DEC  3  1920 


BV  1475  .C67  1919 

Cope,  Henry  Frederick,  1870 

1923. 
The  school  in  the  modern 

church 


THE  SCHOOL 

IN  THE 

MODERN  CHURCH 

By 
HENRY  FREDERICK  COPE,  A.M.,  D.D. 

General  Secretary  ot  The  Religious  Education  Association 

Author  of  •  Efficiency  in  the  Sunday  School,"  "The  Modem 

Sunday  School  in  Principle  and  Practice,"  "Evolution 

of  the  Sunday  School,"  etc. 


NEW  ^>l2jr  YORK 
GEORGE  H.  DORAN  COMPANY 


Copyright,  1919. 
By  GEORGE  H.  DORAN  COMPANY 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 


PREFACE 


*' Sunday  School''  is  the  title  to  which  four  gen- 
erations have  been  accustomed ;  no  one  who  knows 
the  field  of  religious  education  can  doubt  that  the 
next  generation  will  use  a  new  title.  The  change 
to  the  name  ''Church  School"  is  significant,  how- 
ever, only  because  it  indicates  developments  in  the 
scope  and  functions  of  the  school.  These  develop- 
ments seem  to  call  for  a  practical  exposition  which 
will  aid  any  school  to  enter  into  the  fulness  of  its 
opportunities. 

These  chapters  on  the  ideals  and  the  practical 
problems  of  the  new  type  of  school  are  not  written 
so  much  for  the  schools  consciously  marching  in 
the  vanguard,  and  those  schools  which  know  they 
are  *'new"  and  up-to-date  as  for  those  which, 
while  accepting  and  f  olloT\dng  the  newer  methods, 
still  must  struggle  ^vith  inadequacy  of  equipment, 
meagre  support,  and  ignorance  and  indifference, 
resulting  in  a  lack  of  team-play  on  the  part  of 
their  churches.  I  have  tried  to  keep  in  mind 
schools  which  I  have  kno^vn  in  suburban  areas, 
in  the  country-side  and  in  villages,  the  kind  of 
schools  that  would  include  probably  between 
eighty  and  ninety  per  cent  of  all  the  Sunday 
schools  in  North  America. 

The  larger  schools  can  often  find  expert  lead- 
ership; but  the  smaller  schools — ^which  constitute 
the    larger    aggregate    number    of    pupils    and 


vi  PEEFACE 

churches — must  be  aided  and  encouraged.  There- 
fore, instead  of  endeavoring  to  describe,  as  the 
title  might  lead  some  to  expect,  an  ideal  school, 
a  paper  organization  prophetic  of  the  school-to- 
be,  I  have  thought  it  more  profitable  to  look  at 
actual  situations,  to  bring  together  a  number  of 
answers  which  have  been  given  to  actual,  specific 
questions  and  to  suggest  practical  plans  for 
schools  seeking  better  and  wider  work. 

''The  School  in  the  Modem  Church''  is  not  an 
essay  in  religious  pedagogy,  nor  does  it  maintain 
any  special  thesis.  It  is  simply  a  series  of  dis- 
cussions of  those  problems  which  have  developed 
in  actual  practice  as  certain  schools,  distinctly  of 
the  ** average"  type,  have  sought  to  apply  modem 
methods.  It  is  designed  to  direct  those  schools 
that  desire  to  go  forward,  to  encourage  and  aid 
the  schools  that  are  conscious  of  new  ways  and 
new  days  and  to  help  them  to  enter  into  both. 

Chicago:  May,  1919. 


CONTENTS 


Cbaftbb  Faob 

I.    Why  Make  New  Ventukes?      ....       13 
Changes  in  purpose  determining  work.    Changed 
conditions  in  modern  life.     Sole  responsibility 
for  religious  instruction.    Facing  the  complexity 
of  modern  life. 

II.    What  Has  Been  Accomplished       ...      24 

The  old  school  sketched.  The  significant  changes. 
New  relations  to  church.  New  agencies  of  pro- 
motion. A  new  Hterature.  The  approach  to 
reaUty. 

III.  The  New  School  in  a  New  Day     ...      37 

The  new  demands  on  life  and  rehgion.  Making 
the  motives  of  a  new  world.  Accepting  the  respon- 
sibiUty  for  the  mind  of  youth  in  spiritual  and 
moral  affairs.  Controlled  by  a  social  purpose. 
Looking  to  a  new  world. 

IV.  The  School  and  the  Church     ....      46 
Recognizing  the  rights  of  the  school.   The  denomi- 
national conscience.     New  relations  in  church 
organization.     The  concept  of  an  educational 
program. 

V.    The  Scientific  Basis  of  the  New  School         56 
The  new  reverence  for  truth.    A  factual  basis  as 
to  the  school's  community.    The  survey.     The 
factual  basis  as  to  the  pupil's  life.    Knowing  the 
lesson  process. 

VI.    Educational  Direction 77 

The  Church  Board  of  Rehgious  Education.    The 
Community  Board.    The  Directors  of  Education 
in  a  church.    The  training  of  directors, 
vii 


viii  CONTENTS 

Chapteb  PaQ" 

VII.    The  New  Program  of  Teaching    ...      88 
New  purpose  and  ideals  in  teaching.     Graded 
social  instruction.    Lessons  in  the  realities,  base- 
ball and  daily  Uving.    The  work  of  teaching  and 
learning  as  a  social  enterprise. 

VIII.  Ventures  that  Lead  to  the  Great 

Venture 99 

The  pioneering  churches  need  a  platform.  The 
processes  of  rehgious  education.  The  forces 
which  the  church  must  organize.  The  direct 
and  the  indirect  responsibiUties.  The  field.  The 
task. 

IX.    Steps  Forward 117 

Providing  a  general  leadership;  converting  the 
minister.  Providing  a  corps  of  trained  educators. 
A  directing  body  of  experts.  A  suitable  equip- 
ment. The  construction  of  an  adequate  program; 
its  extension. 

X.    The  Week-day  School 130 

The  need  for  more  time.  The  Gary  Plan.  The 
New  York  City  Plan.  Other  experiments.  The 
accredited  Bible-study  plan. 

XI.    The  School  and  Play 145 

The  new  point  of  view  on  play.  Athletics  or  play? 
The  gymnasium  question.  Purpose  controls. 
Plans  for  the  \allage  school.  Cooperation  in  the 
community.    Recreation  in  the  rural  school. 

XII.  Engaging  the  Child's  Active  Powers      .     162 
The  new  place  of  expressional  activities.   Learning 

to  Hve  the  group  life.  Activity  and  the  program 
of  the  church.  The  field  of  action.  Relations  to 
environment.    Directing  activity. 

XIII.  The  Library  of  the  School     ....     176 
An  old  institution  still  needed.     What  every 
library  should  seek  to  do.    What  should  be  in 

the  library?  The  City  school  library.  In  the 
rural  church.     The  Library  Committee.     The 


CONTENTS  ix. 

Chaft£b  Fa.qb 

religious  aim.  Getting  results  from  the  workers' 
library. 

XIV.    The  School  Training  for  Service      .     .     208 
The  new  attitude  to  a  world  to  be  redeemed. 
Preparation.    Training  as  education.    The  adult 
worker.   Training  youth.   The  school  as  a  training 
agency.    The  lay-worker's  vision. 

XV.    A  Field  of  Work  for  the  Adult  Class     .     230 
The  department  and  non-church  families.  Reach- 
ing the  homes.    Developing  the  efficiency  of  the 
family. 

XVI.  Crises  in  School  Management      .     .     .     244 
Getting  rid  of  the  superintendent.     Losing  the 
incompetent  superintendent.    Retiring  a  teacher. 
Deahng  with  the  school-wrecker. 

XVII.  Crises  as  Opportunities 266 

The  crisis  of  standing  still.  The  crisis  of  over- 
crowding. When  graded  lessons  fail.  The 
strength  of  vision. 


ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 


I  hereby  express  my  gratitude  to  the  editors 
of  The  Sunday  School  Journal,  The  Pilgrim 
Teacher,  and  The  Sunday  School  Executive 
for  the  right  to  use,  with  certain  changes  which 
I  have  made,  articles  appearing  in  these  publi- 
cations. 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 


CHAPTER  I 

WHY  MAKE  NEW  YENTUEES? 

Why  are  educational  methods,  in  our  day,  so  con- 
stantly subject  to  revision?  To  the  uninitiated 
who  do  not  discern  what  is  really  happening  it 
seems  that  every  teacher,  like  the  men  of  Athens, 
is  continually  seeking  some  new  pedagogical  faith, 
and  every  school  is  simply  an  experiment  station 
for  would-be  educational  experts.  Is  this  condi- 
tion simply  the  result  of  our  appetite  for  novelty? 
It  affects  education  wherever  it  is  found  in  insti- 
tutions; the  school  of  the  church  is  not  exempt; 
on  the  contrary  we  find  greater  change,  by  far, 
there  than  in  any  other  institution  for  teaching. 
Taking  this  one  agency,  why  should  we,  appar- 
ently with  complacency,  assume  that  change  is 
normal,  that  new  methods  must  be  tried  and  new 
ventures  in  the  application  of  revised  theories 
be  attempted? 

The  answer  scarce  needs  to  be  stated  to  those 
who  understand  what  our  modem  world  means 
by  education  and  who  regard  the  school  of  the 
church  as  an  educational  agency.  They  know  that 
education  is  one  of  the  youngest  of  the  sciences, 
that,  while  it  has  a  fairly  sound  body  of  knowledge 
as  its  basis,  that  body  of  knowledge  is  growing 
fast;  discoveries  of  the  greatest  importance  are 

13 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODEEN  CHUECH 

being  made — ^not  as  one  discovers  a  new  star  or 
a  new  element,  but  slowly,  dimly  at  first  and  with 
clearness  step  after  step.  The  scientific  principles 
of  education  deal  with  materials  so  varied,  in 
many  respects  so  subject  to  change,  that  we  can- 
not expect  rigidity  in  them.  Educational  methods 
always  will  change  because  education  itself 
changes  these  materials.  If  it  effects  its  work  it 
will  have  to  deal  constantly  with  a  changing  and 
improving  society.  It  works  on  the  world  of  liv- 
ing beings  and  these  are  never  the  same  today 
that  they  were  yesterday. 

But  there  is  a  reason  for  new  ventures  which 
stands  out  even  stronger  than  the  law  of  growth 
and  consequent  change  following  the  adoption  of 
scientific  method;  it  is  the  fact  that  the  school  is 
in  a  new  world.  It  must  either  venture  new  things 
or  die.  It  is  called  to  new  tasks,  the  tasks  of  a  new 
day. 

Why  should  the  church  school  for  the  twentieth 
century  differ  from  the  school  for  the  nineteenth 
century?  For  precisely  the  same  reason  that  the 
Sunday  school  of  the  nineteenth  was  entirely  dif- 
ferent from  that  of  the  eighteenth  century?  The 
school  must  change  for  the  same  reason  that  the 
school  came  into  being,  because  of  the  demands 
of  a  developing  civilization.  Seventeenth-century 
society  neglected  the  child ;  eighteenth-century  so- 
ciety put  the  child  in  the  factory;  nineteenth- 
century  society  put  the  child  to  school;  in  the 
twentieth  we  recognize  the  child  as  a  person  liv- 
ing a  real  life  and  acquiring  the  abilities  of  social 
living.    The  Sunday  school  is  society  at  work  real- 

14 


WHY  MAKE  NEW  VENTURES  1 

izing  its  ideals ;  it  is  one  of  the  institutions  in  the 
mechanism  of  modern  life.  The  Sunday  school  is 
the  means  by  which  the  church  discharges  its  so- 
cial responsibility,  for  it  is  designed  to  prepare 
the  child  for  complete  living. 

I.     THE    PURPOSE    WILL    DETERMINE    THE    CHAEACTER 
OF    THE   SCHOOL 

Any  advance  that  we  have  made  in  the  Sunday 
schools  in  the  last  two  decades  has  been  due  to 
the  clearer  conception  of  the  function  of  this  in- 
stitution. Robert  Raikes  organized  the  schools 
to  take  children  off  the  street.  The  American 
church  of  one  hundred  years  ago  organized  to 
teach  the  catechism  to  children  or  to  fill  up  the 
period  between  the  two  long  sermons.  The  early 
schools  in  England  paved  the  way  for  popular 
education  there.  We  have  come  to  a  closer  divi- 
sion as  to  the  functions  of  social  institutions.  We 
see  the  home  existing  to  propagate,  nurture  and 
train  lives  for  Society,  the  schools  existing  to  train 
for  efficient  citizenship  and  social  living,  the 
churches  to  elevate  an  ideal  and  to  motivate  all 
our  life  with  the  religious  spirit.  Then  the  Sun- 
day school,  as  a  part  of  the  church,  uses  the  edu- 
cational method  to  train  youth  in  life  in  a  re- 
ligious society.  There  is  precisely  the  function 
of  this  institution.  It  is  a  school  of  Christian  so- 
cial living  for  the  young.  As  surely  as  the  fac- 
tory exists  to  produce  goods  and  the  bank  to  facili- 
tate exchange  this  school  exists  to  produce  an 
efficient  religious  society.    Its  product  will  be  boys 

15 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODEEN  CHURCH 

and  girls  growing  into  manhood  and  womanhood 
in  a  society  competent  for  the  life  of  the  future. 
This  purpose,  the  production  of  Christian  charac- 
ter, will  determine  the  details  of  methods  and 
organization.  The  great  immediate  need  is  to 
get  the  church  to  realize  the  real  purpose  of  the 
school. 


n.     THE  CONDITION'S  OF  MODEEN  LITE,  THAT  IS,  LIFE 

IN  THE  TWENTIETH  CENTUEY,  WILL  DETEEMINE 

THE  CHAEACTEE  OF  THIS  SCHOOL 

Its  efficiency  vnll  be  measured,  not  by  whether 
it  makes  the  hojs  acquainted  with  the  life  of  the 
first  century,  nor  fit  to  enjoy  the  asceticism  of 
the  third  century  nor  fit  to  live  in  heaven,  but 
whether  it  makes  them  fit  to  live  and  able  to  live 
right  in  their  own  century. 

Three  conditions  are  determining  the  charac- 
ter of  the  Sunday  school  of  our  day: 

(1)  The  Svmday  school  must  take  up  those 
duties  which  the  home  now  neglects.  Whatever 
our  regrets  may  be,  we  face  the  fact  that  the 
home  has  almost  given  up  family  worship  and 
entirely  given  up  any  systematic  religious  instruc- 
tion. The  Saturday  afternoon  catechism  is  gone 
and  almost  the  only  religious  discussion  is  the 
criticism  of  the  preacher's  sermon,  served  as  a 
side-dish  at  the  Sunday  dinner,  or  general  la- 
mentations over  the  Sunday  school  the  parents 
know  so  well  because  they  never  see  it.  Perhaps 
more  important  than  all  this,  however,  is  the  gen- 
eral fact  that  the  home  has  been  so  caught  up  in 

16 


WHY  MAKE  NEW  VENTUEES? 

the  whirl  of  modern  life  as  to  appear  to  be  able 
to  do  nothing  more  for  the  child  than  to  give  it 
clothes  and  meals,  while  in  the  modem  city  apart- 
ment where  the  child  lives  in  a  pigeon-hole,  no 
one  seems  to  think  that  children  were  made  to 
grow  at  all,  still  less  to  grow  as  religious  per- 
sons. 

(2)  The  modern  school  of  the  church  must 
adapt  itself  to  larger  requirements  rising  out  of 
its  civil  responsihility.  Because  the  public  schools 
cannot  teach  religion  these  private  schools,  con- 
ducted by  religious  people,  have  this  sole  respon- 
sibility of  formal  instruction  in  religion.  The 
church  school  must  face  this  situation  with  the 
utmost  seriousness  and  ask,  what  is  required  of 
us  in  order  to  meet  all  the  child's  religious  needs! 
Those  needs  are  not  being  met ;  no  other  institu- 
tion can  meet  them.  At  present  the  church  school 
endeavors  to  meet  the  situation  with  a  single 
period  of  instruction  conducted  in  a  most  ineffi- 
cient manner;  that  is,  it  holds  that  the  relative 
importance  of  religion  to  all  other  subjects  in 
the  child's  curriculum  is  as  one  hour  to  twenty- 
seven.  Surely  some  change  will  have  to  be  made 
here,  not  because  the  all-important  consideration 
is  that  children  shall  know  more  about  religion, 
but  because  this  formal  religious  teaching  is  also 
the  only  teaching  designed  and  directed  toward 
developing  religious  character.  If,  in  order  to 
meet  the  need,  the  church  must  enlarge  the  time 
for  teaching,  must  use  other  days  than  Sunday 
and  must  provide  more  proficient  teachers,  then 
that  development  must  come  speedily. 

17 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH' 

But  the  fact  that  tliis  school  is  solely  responsi- 
ble for  a  department  of  instruction  also  sets  it 
into  comparison  with  general  education.  We  re- 
joice in  the  religious  freedom  that  prohibits  the 
public  agency  from  affairs  so  personal.  But  our 
liberty  lays  on  us  all  a  large  responsibility,  no 
less  than  that  of  making  the  work  of  teaching 
religion  fully  as  efficient  as  the  work  of  general 
instruction. 

Now  the  point  is  not  only  that  practically  all 
teaching  about  religion  and  all  formal  training 
in  the  life  of  a  religious  society  which  any  child 
can  expect  will  come  from  this  school  of  the 
church,  it  is  that  the  standards  of  public  educa- 
tion are  laid  upon  this  school.  "We  are  accustomed 
to  insist  that  religion  is  the  most  important  inter- 
est of  our  lives ;  it  is  time  to  be  consistent  with  our 
insistence.  If  it  is  ever  to  become  the  foremost 
power  in  the  life  of  society  it  must  take  the  fore- 
most place  early  in  lives.  It  must  be  foremost  in 
time,  foremost  amongst  impressions,  foremost  in 
its  impressiveness  at  the  time  that  feeling-judg- 
ments are  being  formed.  Religion  always  will  be 
negligible  in  the  lives  of  many  when  it  has  been 
neglected  in  their  early  lives.  The  secondary 
issues  in  life  rise  from  secondary  impressions  in 
youth. 

Here  we  will  be  met  by  the  objection  that  it  is 
unfair  to  lay  on  the  voluntary  workers  of  the 
church  school  demands  parallel  to  those  proper 
to  the  professional  workers  of  public  education. 
That  is  to  confuse  an  incident  of  our  method  of 
conducting  religious  education  with  the  essential 

18 


WHY  MAKE  NEW  VENTUEES? 

issue  of  its  importance.  If  our  system  of  volun- 
tary workers  is  an  insuperable  obstacle  to  effi- 
ciency, if  it  stands  in  the  way  of  the  school  being 
sufficient  for  the  task  before  it,  then  either  the 
school  will  go,  or  the  voluntary  system.  The  prob- 
lem we  face  is  not  that  of  doing  the  best  we  can 
with  things  as  they  are ;  it  is  that  of  making  things 
fit  to  do  that  which  has  to  be  done.  If  the  tools 
we  have  cannot  be  made  fit  we  must  get  new 
ones.  The  present  system  of  a  one-hour-a-week 
school  with  voluntary,  amateur  teachers  is  an  in- 
heritance from  other  days ;  it  is  not  an  organiza- 
tion designed  for  these  days.  The  one-room,  one- 
teacher  ungraded  schoolhouse  was  an  inheritance 
that  our  fathers  revered ;  but  it  had  to  go.  There 
can  scarcely  be  a  doubt  but  that,  if  the  churches 
really  intend  to  train  the  young  so  that  we  may 
have  a  society  governed  by  religious  ideals  the 
present  type  of  Sunday  school  will  have  to  give 
place  to  another  and  much  more  efficient  organiza- 
tion. Either  slow  decay,  indiif  erence,  dishearten- 
ing disappointment  and  oblivion  await,  or  we  will 
open  our  minds — and  our  purses — ^to  plan  a  sys- 
tem of  religious  education  for  the  young  which 
shall  stand  on  a  level  of  competency  with  the  pub- 
lic school  system  and  shall  soar  far  above  it  in  its 
aims  and  purposes. 

New  ventures  we  cannot  escape,  if  we  would; 
new  ventures  we  must  make  if  we  would  not  fail 
utterly.  This  is  true,  not  alone  because  the  school 
leaves  us  the  field  of  religion,  but  because  life  calls 
for  more  religion. 

(3)     The  School  must  face  the  complexity  of  our 

19 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

modern  life.  We  have  passed  from  the  quiet  ways 
of  yesterday  because  modem  commerce  and  trans- 
portation have  woven  our  lives  into  a  new  intri- 
cacy and,  life  pressing  on  life,  crowding,  and  com- 
peting, accelerates  the  pace  more  and  more.  Life 
is  crowded  and  complicated,  and,  since  this  school 
of  religion  trains  for  life  it  mnst  change  in  order 
to  meet  changing  conditions.  It  must  adapt  it- 
self to  meet  the  needs  of  contemporaneous  life, 
or  die. 

Often  schedules  and  plans  must  be  changed  to 
fit  into  our  crowded  programs.  The  school  has  to 
meet  the  present-day  competition  for  the  mind  and 
energy  of  youth.  The  strenuous  life  is  the  normal 
life.  Not  only  has  the  adult  adopted  the  schedule 
of  social  engagements  and  business  duties  which 
often  postpones  aU  interviews  with  the  Almighty 
until  just  before  death — or  after,  but  the  child 
seems  likely  to  be  equally  pr^e-occupied.  The 
public  school  pre-empts  thirty  hours  per  week; 
music-teacher,  dancing-class,  parties  and  all  the 
other  penalties  of  a  superficial  generation  tend  to 
make  the  child  a  mechanical  doll  never  intended 
to  play  nor  to  grow  as  a  person. 

Another  condition  of  our  modem  complexity 
which  the  schools  must  face  is  the  variation  in  the 
types  of  our  life,  as  for  example,  suburban,  mral, 
industrial  and  leisure.  The  primary  needs  may 
not  vary  but,  if  the  school  is  to  equip  for  life,  it 
is  evident  that  there  are  differences  in  the  life 
of  the  mral  child  and  the  child  in  the  factory 
district;  that  we  will  not  only  need  the  graded 

20 


WHY  MAKE  NEW  VENTURES? 

Sunday  school,  but  we  will  need  the  adapted  Sun- 
day school. 

Above  all,  for  our  consideration,  must  stand 
out  the  fact  that  the  Sunday  school  exists  for 
spiritual  purposes  in  the  generation  having  the 
most  highly  efficient  organization  for  material 
purposes.  The  wonder  of  our  day  is  not  in  libra- 
ries, museums,  poems  and  prophets ;  but  we  make 
our  boasts  in  the  concrete  things  of  industry  and 
trade,  in  the  efficiency  with  which  we  build  bridges 
and  factories,  turn  out  goods,  hurl  ribbons  of  steel 
across  a  continent  and  do  the  work  of  a  giant's 
hands.  We  care  not  whether  we  have  the  soul 
of  a  giant  or  not.  We  accordingly  demand  that 
our  public  schools  shall  turn  out  workmen  suffi- 
cient for  this  day  of  material  miracles.  We  de- 
mand vocational  training  that  there  may  be 
enough  giants  to  handle  our  engines  and  to  do  it 
competently.  We  spend  about  $37.00  per  capita 
or  considerably  over  four  hundred  million  dollars 
on  public  schools  annually,  and  have  no  hesitation 
in  increasing  the  expenditures  that  they  may  be 
made  more  efficient  in  agricultural  and  industrial 
training  while,  as  yet,  no  voice  speaks  to  us  warn- 
ing us  of  the  fools  who  build  bigger  bams  and 
starve  themselves.  The  Sunday  school  is  the  one 
institution  organized  in  recognition  of  the  fact 
that  the  children  even  of  our  day  are  more  than 
bread-winning  machines,  wage-earners  and  slaves 
of  the  modem  rage  for  material  greatness.  If  the 
higher  life  is  greater  than  the  lower,  if  the  per- 
son is  to  be  master  of  his  possessions,  there  rests 
on  this  school  no  less  than  the  demand  to  meet  the 

21 


THE  SCHOOL  IX  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

needs  of  the  soul  in  an  age  engrossed  with  the 
body. 

All  these  needs  mean  that  the  boys  and  girls 
in  Sunday  schools  are  going  up  into  a  life  that  will 
make  greater  demands  on  them  than  our  own 
times  have  made.  This  is  not  a  reason  for  des- 
pair. It  is  a  challenge  to  greatness.  We  do  not 
lament  the  easier  days  gone  by,  but  we  do  re- 
joice in  the  advantage  of  a  higher  task  than  has 
ever  yet  fallen  to  human  hands.  Whatever  may 
have  been  the  methods  of  the  past  we  must  dis- 
cover methods  competent  to  the  present.  This 
Sunday  school,  which  we  have  too  often  regarded 
as  a  sort  of  appendix  to  the  church,  a  toy  with 
which  a  few  people  may  amuse  themselves,  must 
be  taken  seriously.  We  must  see  it  as  the  institu- 
tion in  which  we  are  making  the  men  and  women 
of  the  coming  Kingdom.  The  church  fails  to  make 
progress  for  lack  of  a  program.  Let  our  imme- 
diate  program  be  to  get  people  ready  to  live  the 
life  of  the  Kingdom.  The  society  of  tomorrow  is 
in  the  school  of  today.  We  determine  today  what 
the  coming  day  shall  be  and  we  determine  this  in 
our  schools.  We  have  the  task  of  making  good 
men  and  women,  able  to  do  good  and  to  make 
good,  able  to  bring  about  a  society  of  good  will, 
efficient  for  work,  informed  of  the  needs,  and  in- 
spired for  the  service  of  their  day,  capable  of 
solving  its  social  problems  and  realizing  its  pos- 
sibilities. 

These  are  amongst  the  considerations  that  force 
us,  not  alone  to  new  ventures  in  the  school,  but 
to  regard  the  school  itself  as  a  new  venture.    It 

22 


WHY  MAKE  XEW  VEXTUEES? 

passes  from  being  a  weekly  affair  in  the  chiircli 
to  teach  something  abont  the  Bible  to  children 
and  it  becomes  the  agency  throngh  which  the 
church  carries  forward  a  program  of  religions 
edncation,  a  program  determined  by  two  factors : 
the  purpose,  that  the  next  generation  shall  be 
trained  in  the  life  of  a  society  governed  by  re- 
ligions ideals,  so  organized  as  to  realize  the  de- 
mocracy of  the  family  of  God — actnally  to  realize 
it  and  not  alone  to  dream  abont  it,  sing  abont  it 
and  pray  abont  it:  and  the  plan,  determined  by 
the  laws  according  to  which  hves  develop  their 
powers  and  are  trained  to  a  common  social  life,  the 
life  of  the  spirit 


33 


CHAPTER  II 

WHAT  HAS  BEEN  ACCOMPLISHED 

Lest  the  program  sketched  seem  so  novel  and  so 
large  as  to  produce  only  entire  discouragement 
it  is  well  to  remember,  first,  that  it  leads  in  an 
easier  path  than  the  old  one  because  it  is  the 
path  of  life;  it  follows  the  laws  that  life  lays 
down  and  it  has  both  the  experience  of  education 
in  the  past  and  the  cooperation  of  all  its  forces  to- 
day to  aid  in  its  realization.  Second,  some  of  the 
most  important  steps  toward  its  realization  have 
already  been  taken.  We  are  far  from  the  ideal, 
far  from  competency  for  the  task  that  belongs  to 
the  churches ;  but  competency  is  not  to  come  in  a 
single  hour ;  no  united,  Herculean  effort  will  bring 
it  about.  But  it  is  coming;  it  is  already  on  the 
way.  And  the  signs  of  its  promise  we  may  see, 
for  our  heartening,  and  our  direction,  by  a  glance 
at  the  changes  that  have  taken  place  within  the 
past  two  decades. 

A  new  Sunday  school  is  an  accomplished  fact; 
even  to  the  remotest  regions  the  old  type  has 
passed  away.  New  life  has  brought  forth  the  new 
type.  The  facetious  have  lost  one  of  the  butts 
for  their  ridicule,  the  serious  one  of  the  bases  of 
their  despair.  In  fifteen  years  we  have  ceased 
to  regard  the  school  that  seriously  endeavored 
to  follow  educational  methods  as  an  exception; 

24 


WHAT  HAS  BEEN  ACCOMPLISHED 

it  has  become  a  commonplace.  No  longer  does  the 
platform  orator  deride  the  ^'faddists  and  the- 
orists'' who  established  the  first  insurgent  schools, 
who  demanded  real  teaching  and  better  lessons. 
Now  the  echoing  orator,  the  convention  spell- 
binder seeks  to  work  his  incantations  with  edu- 
cational phraseology.  The  new  school,  as  an  edu- 
cational institution,  is  an  accomplished  fact. 

THE  OU)  SCHOOL 

Before  they  have  all  passed  from  our  knowledge 
some  one  ought  to  give  us,  for  historical  purposes, 
a  picture,  complete  in  all  details,  of  the  old  type 
of  Sunday  school.  ,It  originated  for  excellent 
purposes:  it  accomplished  a  splendid  work,  but 
it  ceased  to  develop  with  its  task ;  it  failed  to  keep 
pace  with  the  general  advance  of  its  people. 
Suffice  it  to  say  that  two  decades  ago  the  typical 
Sunday  school  was  no  more  than  a  body  of  chil- 
dren gathered  by  adults  who  assembled  them  for 
worship  and  who  divided  them  into  groups  to 
which  they  tried  to  teach  something  out  of  the 
Bible.  That  was  about  all  that  could  be  said, 
except  that  one  might  add  it  exerted  some  good 
influences,  it  taught  something  about  the  Bible 
to  some  of  its  '  ^  scholars, ' '  and  it  kept  them  from 
bothering  their  parents  for  at  least  one  hour  of 
the  week.  On  the  other  side,  considered  as  a 
school,  it  was  no  more  than  a  number  of  small 
groups  scattered  about  a  church  auditorium,  desti- 
tute of  teaching  equipment,  without  trained  or 
expert  teaching  staff  and  innocent  of  teaching 

25 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

consciousness.  All  the  classes,  from  the  primary 
to  the  pulpiteers,  were  studying  the  same  les- 
son, it  made  no  difference  whether  it  happened 
to  be  milk  or  bare  bones  that  was  chanced  upon 
in  the  course  of  travel  through  the  Bible ;  all  must 
take  it  as  it  came.  Everyone  was  satisfied  if  only 
the  attendance  grew  in  numbers  and  the  order, 
or  '^discipline,''  did  not  fall  greatly  below  that 
of  the  street. 

WHAT  IS  NEWf 

Now,  superficially,  what  are  the  changes  that 
justify  the  title,  *'new  school  T'  Of  course,  the" 
really  significant  changes  are  not  superficial;  but 
to  state  the  most  evident  ones  first:  The  school 
now  seeks  to  be  a  teaching  mstitution.  1.  It  is 
expected  that  teachers  will  be  trained  for  teach- 
ing, that  they  will  prepare  their  lessons  and  will 
really  teach.  2.  The  school  seeks  to  place  classes 
under  conditions  more  favorable  to  teaching, 
either  with  each  class  in  a  separate  room  or  as 
near  to  that  ideal  as  possible.  What  more  definite 
evidence  could  one  produce  than  the  fact  that  it 
is  impossible  to  keep  an  up-to-date  record  on  the 
churches  that  are  erecting  special  buildings  for 
their  Sunday  schools?  3.  The  pupils  are  now 
grouped  according  to  their  stages  of  development. 
4.  The  school  is  organized  so  that  study  means 
progress,  from  grade  to  grade,  advancing  through 
an  orderly  arranged  course  of  study.  5.  The  les- 
sons are  graded.  The  school  world  has  thoroughly 
accepted  that  principle,  even  though  it  loudly  de- 
clared through  its  official  leaders  that  it  never, 

26 


WHAT  HAS  BEEN  ACCOMPLISHED 

no  never,  would  abandon  its  cherished  uniform 
lesson  system.  Perhaps  this  is  the  most  impor- 
tant superficial  evidence  of  the  new  school,  a 
common  following  of  the  educational  principle 
that  the  materials  of  study  must  be  determined 
by  the  needs  and  abilities  of  the  pupils.  Nothing 
short  of  a  new  spirit  of  life  could  have  effected 
a  change  so  profound  as  this,  one  accomplished 
in  the  face  of  the  stoutest,  united  opposition  of 
traditionalism,  vested  interests,  publishers' 
profits  and  organized  Sunday-school  forces. 
6.  The  pupils  are  divided,  not  only  for  purposes 
of  class  recitation  but  for  all  their  activities  and 
interests  into  departments  which  are  simply  the 
broad  life-areas  of  infancy,  childhood,  boy-  and 
girl-hood,  youth,  young  manhood  and  womanhood, 
and  adult  life.  7.  Churches  choose  persons  of 
educational  fitness  to  guide  the  schools.  Pur- 
posely we  stop  here,  even  though  many  other  evi- 
dences of  development  might  have  been  cited,  be- 
cause we  wish  to  stand  on  the  level  of  the  average 
school,  to  show  that  the  new  school  is  not  here 
and  there,  an  occasional,  sporadic  affair,  a  school 
exceptionally  favored,  but  it  is  the  average  school 
of  today. 

SCHOOL  AND  CHUECH 

The  evidences  of  the  fact  that  we  have  a  new 
Sunday  school  are  perhaps  more  impressive  in 
the  less  obvious  aspects,  and  in  movements  that 
are  not  quite  so  well  known  as  those  which  have 
been  briefly  stated.  The  first  of  these  is  the  new 
denominational    consciousness    of    the    Sunday 

27 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODEEN  CHURCH 

school.  The  interest  of  the  denomination  in  the 
old  school  was  principally  that  of  establishing 
new  schools,  increasing  attendance  at  old  ones, 
and,  apparently,  making  as  much  profit  as  pos- 
sible out  of  school  supplies.  Those  schools  with 
their  millions  of  cheap  ^^quarterlies.,''  cheaply 
edited  and  poorly  printed,  were  gold  mines  to 
denominational  boards.  But  those  days  are  gone. 
Now  the  church  board  consists  of  men  and  women, 
chosen  because  they  know  something  about  re- 
ligious education,  devoted  to  the  realization  of 
educational  programs  through  the  schools  and 
leading  in  educational  endeavors.  They  do  not 
regard  the  school  as  a  mine  to  be  worked,  but  as 
a  responsibility.  Nearly  all  the  church  com- 
munions now  have  their  boards  of  religious  edu- 
cation, usually  composed  of  persons  selected  for 
educational  fitness,  sometimes  persons  of  recog- 
nized standing  in  the  general  educational  pro- 
fession. They  are  the  real  directors  of  the  schools 
of  each  communion.  These  boards  employ  edu- 
cators, trained  men  and  women,  to  carry  on  the 
educational  direction  of  the  schools,  to  train  lead- 
ers and  to  elevate  standards.  They  require  not 
alone  enthusiasm,  not  alone  convention  oratory, 
nor  alone  organization  ability;  they  require  edu- 
cational leadership.  Some  of  the  boards  estab- 
lish rules  requiring  their  workers,  the  travelling 
and  field  secretaries,  for  example,  to  continue  their 
studies,  to  read  certain  books  every  year.  More- 
over, in  spite  of  all  that  the  habitual  alarmists 
have  said,  the  schools  have  prospered  under  this 
sort  of  leadership. 

28 


WHAT  HAS  BEEN  ACCOMPLISHED 


THE  AGENCIES  OF  PROMOTION 

The  next  general,  and  superficial  evidence  of 
the  new  school  lies  in  the  changes  in  the  agencies 
of  general  leadership.  Old  organizations  have 
been  completely  changed  and  new  ones  have  been 
created.  Formerly  the  general  promotion  of  Sun- 
day school  interests  was  in  the  hands  of  two  as- 
sociations, both  without  controlling  educational 
consciousness,  one  sought  to  organize  new  schools, 
the  other  endeavored  to  maintain  high-pressure 
enthusiasm.  One  must,  in  fairness,  say  that  both 
were  animated  with  religious  ideals ;  both  sought 
the  highest  good  for  the  child;  but  neither  real- 
ized that,  in  the  school,  that  good  must  be  at- 
tained by  the  educational  method.  The  Interna- 
tional Association  was,  for  a  long  time,  frankly 
hostile  to  the  ideals  and  method  of  education.  It 
is  not  worth  while  to  rehearse  its  opposition  to 
graded  lessons.  Eather,  we  all  rejoice  in  the  fact 
that  this  Association  later  committed  itself  to  the 
educational  program.  The  fruits  of  conversion 
are  evident  in  its  organization,  in  the  topics  of  its 
conventions  and  in  the  plans  it  is  promoting.  It  is 
now  in  process  of  reorganization  into  close  affilia- 
tion with  the  Council  which  represents  the  church 
boards  of  religious  education. 

But  new  organizations  have  arisen  to  stand 
back  of  the  new  school.  The  Sunday  School  Coun- 
cil of  Evangelical  Denominations  was  organized 
as  a  syndicate  of  the  larger,  evangelical  church 
boards,  promoted  and  guided  by  their  educational 
leaders  to  carry  forward  the  new  program  of  the 

29 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHUECH 

school.  It  came  into  being  partly  in  protest  and 
impatience  against  the  unwillingness  of  the  Inter- 
national Association  to  adopt  modern  methods. 
Its  power  has  been  used  to  improve  the  school 
as  an  educational  institution,  and  to  carry  out  a 
common  program  of  religious  training  in  the  vast 
numbers  of  churches,  of  many  communions,  which 
it  represents ;  it  has  been  led  by  men  of  vision  as 
to  future  developments  in  a  wider  program  for  the 
schools.  The  Federal  Council  of  Churches  has  a 
Commission  on  Christian  Education.  The  Re- 
ligious Education  Association  was  organized  in 
1903,  to  protest  against  the  neglect  of  the  re- 
ligious element  in  education  and  the  neglect  of 
the  educational  method  in  religious  work,  and  to 
develop  and  promote  the  right  use  of  these  two. 
It  met  an  immediate  response.  It  had  a  range  of 
general  educational  interest,  embracing  colleges 
and  other  schools,  but  it  vigorously  criticized  the 
old  type  of  Sunday  school,  then— sixteen  years 
ago — ^in  its  almost  unbroken  slumbers.  Its  work- 
ers established  new  schools,  applied  educational 
methods  and  began  to  publish  articles,  pamphlets, 
magazines  and  books  calling  for  the  passing  of 
the  old  and  the  beginning  of  the  new  school.  They 
conceived  this  as  a  part  of  a  general  program 
of  instruction  and  training  in  the  religious  life 
which  should  run  through  all  the  experience  of 
the  growing  person  and  should  have  a  place  in 
every  institution  of  education  and  of  nurture. 
Here  was  the  real  background  of  the  movement 
that  made  the  new  school  not  only  possible  but 

30 


WHAT  HAS  BEEN  ACCOMPLISHED 

imperative.  This  Association  organized  the  great 
body  of  general  educators  who  were  keenly  in- 
terested in  religion ;  it  conducted  a  common  propa- 
ganda for  intellectual  integrity  in  religion,  for 
educational  methods  in  the  work  of  the  churches, 
and  for  instruction  in  religion  in  colleges  and 
higher  schools.  It  organized  leaders  and  special- 
ists into  groups  studying  the  specific  problems 
that  arose,  preparing  curricula  materials,  con- 
ducting experiments  and  determining  right 
methods.  There  was  developed  a  recognized  lead- 
ership, which  spoke  with  authority,  aroused  the 
opinion  of  the  worlds  of  religion  and  education 
and  brought  these  two  together  to  cooperate  for 
the  realization  of  ^^the  educational  ideal  in  re- 
ligion and  the  religious  ideal  in  education.''  It 
was  that  reciprocal  ideal  that  made  the  new  school 
possible. 

All  this  means  that  the  school  and  its  working 
force — ^teachers  and  officers — ^have  back  of  them 
large  bodies  doing  two  things :  stimulating  a  gen- 
eral recognition  of  the  importance  of  the  school, 
and  applying  trained  experts  to  solve  its  prob- 
lems. It  means  that  every  worker  has  available 
a  new  reserve  force  especially  valuable  because 
of  specialized  knowledge  of  the  problems  with 
which  the  school  deals. 


A  NEW  LITERATUKE 

The  development  of  the  new  Sunday  school  has 
been  marked  by  a  new  and  remarkable  literature. 
Sixteen  years  ago  the  school  was  at  least  one 

31 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

hundred  and  twenty-five  years  old  in  the  United 
States  ^  and,  as  an  institution,  it  had  to  show  at 
the  end  of  that  time  not  half  a  dozen  books  deal- 
ing seriously  with  its  work;  today  it  is  the  cus- 
tom to  prepare  lists  of  ^'the  one  hundred  best 
books  on  the  Sunday  school. "  ^  In  the  past  six- 
teen years  the  awakened  educational  conscious- 
ness has  produced  at  least  fifty  books  which  treat 
the  school  with  seriousness.  And  even  that  takes 
no  account  of  the  vast  amount  of  ephemeral  lit- 
erature, in  pamphlets  and  magazine  articles  and 
the  rise  of  a  number  of  periodicals,  some  of  them 
of  elevated  character,  devoted  to  religious  educa- 
tion in  the  church.^ 

One  other  external  fact  may  be  mentioned;  in 
some  respects  it  is  the  most  significant  of  all. 
One  notes  everywhere  today  a  hesitancy  to  use 
the  word  or  phrase  ^  ^  Sunday  school' %•  writers  and 
speakers  apologize  for  it,  for  the  school  has  broken 
connections  with  its  past,  and  they  substitute  for 
the  old  name  others  which  better  express  its  mod- 
ern purpose.  The  commission  on  Religious  Edu- 
cation of  the  Northern  Baptist  Convention  for- 
mally recommended  that  the  school  be  known  as 
the  '^school  of  the  churcW  and  this  title  has  been 

*See,  for  the  earlier  date  in  the  United  States,  Chap.  V  &  VI 
of  ''The  Evolution  of  the  Sunday  School/'  by  Henry  F.  Cope. 
(Pilgrim  Press,  1911.) 

'  An  excellent  longer  list  is  published — for  free  distribution — by 
The  American  Baptist  Publication  Society,  Philadelphia,  and  a 
nshort,  selected  list  by  The  Eeligious  Education  Association,  Chi- 
<;ago. 

'  Lists  of  books  mil  be  sent  free  on  application  to  The  Eeligious 
Education  Association,  Chicago. 

32 


WHAT  HAS  BEEN  ACCOMPLISHED 

adopted  quite  generally,  both  by  schools  and  in 
their  leadership.^ 


THE  APPROACH  TO  REALITY 

But  the  new  school  has  significances  which  are 
more  important  than  all  its  phenomena;  they 
evade  description  as  phenomena.  The  modern 
school  comes,  first  of  all,  nearer  to  the  facts  of  life. 
The  old  school  was  often,  with  some  propriety, 
called  a  ^' Bible  School;''  it  existed  to  tell  chil- 
dren things  out  of  the  Bible.  The  new  school 
exists  to  develop  abilities  to  live  the  Christian 
life  in  society  and  to  make  the  world  Christian. 
This  has  entirely  changed  the  center  of  the 
school;  its  character  and  methods  are  no  longer 
determined  by  a  fix:ed  body  of  literature,  but  by 
a  purpose,  to  realize  through  trained  lives  the 
democracy  of  God  in  society  today.  This  change 
can  be  easily  traced  in  the  courses  of  study.  They 
have  moved  from  the  simple  purpose  of  studying 
biblical  narratives  to  the  purpose  evident  in  re- 
cent studies  in  the  Kingdom  of  God,  to  those  seen 
in  ^^The  "World  as  a  Field  of  Christian  Service'' 
and  to  the  plain  intent  of  the  courses  now  being 
projected  as  studies  in  Christian  Reconstruction. 
The  school  has  an  immediate  purpose  in  lives,  to 
develop  Christian  character  and  an  ultimate  pur- 
pose, a  Christian  society. 

But  the  approach  to  reality  has  roots  deeper 
than  the   immediate  purpose   of  instruction;  it 

*As  in  Professor  Athearn's  *' Church  School.'' 

33 


THE  SCHOOL  IX  THE  MODERX  CHURCH 

develops  ont  of  the  principle  that  the  school,  as 
an  educational  institution,  must  be  determined  hy 
the  lives  of  children,  and  all  growing  persons, 
considered  socially.  In  order  that  this  principle 
might  prevail,  it  became  necessary  to  know  these 
lives,  and  hence  arose  the  careful  study  of  the 
psychology  of  religion  and  its  application  to  the 
school.  Scientists,  investigators  and  laboratory 
workers,  moving  with  reverence,  with  the  spirit 
of  religion,  in  the  field  of  psychology,  laid  the 
foundations  of  the  new  school.  The  literature  of 
this  modem  movement  includes  a  very  respectable 
amoxmt  of  scientific  material,  books  on  Child 
Study,  on  the  Psychology  of  Religion  and  on  So- 
cial Psychology.^ 

So  that  the  new  school  has  come  nearer  to  the 
life  of  children.  Apparently,  formerly  it  was  the 
custom  to  think  of  ' '  the  child, ' '  as  though  aU  chil- 
dr^i  were  alike,  and  this  hypothetical  creature 
was  really  only  a  miniature  adult — the  principal 
differences  being  that  the  child  magnified  or  gave 
free  rein  to  his  inheritance  of  Adam,  that  he 
had  no  right  to  freedom  of  action  and  that  he 
learned,  as  no  other  human  beings  learned,  by 
listening.  Sunday-school  pedagogy  gind  discipline 
was  aU  aural-centric,  the  one  thing  needed  was  to 
commandeer  ears;  then  the  lessons  might  be 
poured  into  the  hypnotized  ears,  and  the  task  was 
done!  Xow  the  children  are  seen  as  active  per- 
sons; aU  their  powers  must  be  engaged  and  di- 

*  See  titles  in  tlie  General  BibHography  at  end  of  volume. 


WHAT  HAS  BEEX  ACCOMPLISHED 

rected.  The  sdiool  edncates  by  directing  actions, 
by  organizing  experiences.^  It  is  concerned  ^th 
their  play,  their  v^-ovk.  By  directing  their  activi- 
ties it  develops  their  wills  and  stininlates  them  to 
discover  and  follow  ideals:  it  helps  to  form  mo- 
tives and  develop  efficiencies  in  living.  It  is  devel- 
oping the  lives  of  children  in  their  world.  And 
this  has  bronght  the  school  out  into  new  areas  of 
reality,  for  the  child  lives  in  a  wide  and  varied 
world;  he  is  living  his  life  as  a  religions  person 
at  home,  at  school,  in  play  and  work,  all  the  time. 
The  school  has  come  into  fhe  plain  realities  of 
social  living;  it  is  concerned  with  the  child's 
round  of  life,  with  the  community  in  which  he 
lives,  with  the  play  that  means  so  much  to  him, 
with  the  amusements  which  the  school  once  con- 
demned wholesale  and  without  discriminatiom 
Xow  it  uses  the  means  it  formerly  denounced; 
play,  social  organizations,  dramatics,  the  pageant 
and  the  movies  have  their  place  in  the  program  of 
the  school  as  weU  as  such  forms  of  activity  as 
organized  groups  for  social  usefulness,  for  com- 
munity direction  and  for  the  pure  joy  of  social 
living.  This  is  a  long  step  from. the  school  of 
two  decades  ago:  surely  it  justifies  the  phrase 
**the  new  School  in  the  Church." 

Evidently  the  old  name  is  no  longer  adequate : 
it. is  not  a  Sunday  school;  it  is  a  school  of  the  re- 
ligious life,  and  we  can  use  the  old  title  only  as  a 

*  See  an  excellent  pamphlet  *  *  Eeligions  Edoeation  Through  "Ac- 
tivities, ' '  published  bv  The  American  Baptist  PaUieation  Sodetj, 

Philadelphia. 

35 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODEEN  CHURCH 

link  with  the  past,  a  means  of  mental  contact,  a 
suggestion  that  the  school  of  the  past,  passing 
through  these  many  changes,  now  goes  on  into  its 
new  opportunities. 


36 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  NEW  SCHOOL  IN  A  NEW  DAY 

It  has  become  a  commonplace  to  say  tliat  we  are 
now  living  in  a  new  day,  a  world  that  has  been 
changed  so  greatly  by  the  war  that  it  is  like  a 
new  world.  So  that  we  not  only  have  a  new 
school,  but  we  have  a  new  social  order  in  which 
the  school  has  to  work.  What  does  that  mean 
for  the  school? 

If  the  school  accepts  its  responsibility  to  train 
the  young  for  religions  living  in  a  religions  so- 
ciety it  means  that  the  school  has  a  very  definite* 
relation  to  the  new  world,  that  its  program  will 
be  determined  by  the  needs  of  that  world.  The 
chnrch  school  is  not  preparing  young  people  to 
live  in  some  imaginary  society  which  never 
existed  outside  of  a  certain  type  of  pious  fiction. 
It  is  not  preparing  them  to  live  in  the  quiet  world 
of  our  grandfathers  with  its  fixed  social  castes 
and  its  mechanized  morals.  It  is  engaged  in  re- 
ligious training  for  life  in  a  democracy.  If  it 
really  believes  in  the  Kingdom  of  God  it  is  keenly 
conscious  of  the  tremendous  problems  of  our 
newly  congested  world  life  and  it  believes  that 
these  are  capable  of  solution;  it  believes  that  it 
has,  in  its  work  and  purpose,  the  means  of  solu- 
tion.    The  new  school  faces  the  new  world,  not 

37 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODEEJST  CHUECH 

with  fear  and  doubt,  but  with  confidence  to  train 
the  young  to  live  its  life  in  social  love,  in  co- 
operative service,  in  democratic  social  realization. 
More  than  all  other  reasons  that  can  be  ad- 
vanced for  taking  the  school  seriously  this  is  the 
strongest,  that  it  is  the  one  single  agency  which, 
at  present,  is  directly  engaged  in  preparing 
people,  at  the  time  when  they  can  be  prepared, 
to  live  the  life  of  a  religious  society,  and  that  this 
life  of  a  religious  society  is  the  one  hope  for  all 
social  living  in  the  future.  The  simple  fact  is  that 
a  world  without  the  social  control  of  the  spirit  of 
religion  is  unthinkable.  The  only  motive  under 
which  men  can  live  together  in  the  future  is  that 
of  unselfish  love.  Self-seeking,  greed,  competition, 
commercial  and  industrial  efficiency  have  failed; 
they  have  brought  us  into  rivalries  that  have  de- 
veloped tragic  conflicts ;  they  have  no  promise  of 
anything  better  m  the  future.  Our  world  is  too 
crowded  for  competitive  living;  under  modern 
conditions,  controlled  only  by  man's  desire  to 
gain,  that  means  but  taking  the  bread  from  one 
man's  mouth  to  put  it  into  another  man's  store- 
house. We  have  learned  the  need  for  cooperation. 
In  order  to  avoid  world  waste,  in  order  to  secure 
equitable  distribution  of  power  and  of  food  we 
have  been  practicing  cooperation  on  a  w^orld  scale. 
Never  will  we  go  back  to  the  old  order.  But,  to 
be  effective,  this  cooperation  must  have  a  sus- 
taining motive.  If  it  means  cooperation  only  to 
insure  bread  and  shelter,  then  it  breaks  down  as 
soon  as  it  appears  that  one  can  get  more  bread  or 
better  shelter  by  disregarding  its  principles  and 

38 


THE  NEW  SCHOOL  IN  A  NEW  DAY 

ignoring  the  rights  of  others.  It  must  have  a  mo- 
tive larger  than  my  food  and  shelter  and  larger 
than  our  immunity  from  the  disturbance  of  war. 
It  must  be  a  motive  that  embraces  all  action  and 
sweeps  all  other  consideration  before  it. 

MAKING  THE  MOTIS^ES  OF  A  KEW  WOKLD 

The  school  is  dealing  with  the  one  motive  that 
makes  the  world  life  possible.  What  is  the  mo- 
tive this  modem  world  needs?  It  must  have  the 
elements  of  joy,  grandeur,  inclusiveness  and  moral 
compulsion.  It  must  make  cooperators,  social 
livers,  idealists.  It  is  the  motive  of  social  love, 
the  motive  that  finds  life's  joy  and  purpose  in  the 
well-being  of  others.  This  is  the  principle  back 
of  democracy,  the  idea  of  life  as  our  opportunity 
to  live  with  and  for  all,  the  idea  of  all  social  or- 
ganization, including  the  state  or  government, 
as  existing  for  the  good  of  all  and  as  led  by  the 
good-will  of  all.  It  is  the  motive  that  rises  in  an 
interpretation  of  life  in  terms  of  universal  love. 
It  is  the  motive  that  rises  when  men  cease  to 
live  for  the  things  of  life,  for  bread  and  clothes 
and  houses  and  lands,  when  they  see  these  as  the 
tools  by  which  mankind  realizes  the  higher  pur- 
pose of  a  richer  and  completer  life  of  social  joy, 
of  human  fellowship,  the  life  of  the  spirit.  Now 
is  not  this  precisely  the  motive  which  we  call 
rehgious?  Is  not  this  the  ideal  which  Jesus 
taught?  and  is  not  the  duty  of  any  institution  of 
religious  instruction  that  of  training  persons  to 
live  under  this  motive? 

39 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

The  importance  of  the  church  school — ^in  the 
light  of  the  needs  of  our  modem  democracy — is 
enhanced  when  we  remember  that  it  is  the  only 
institution  which  can  deal  with  freedom  with  the 
young  in  the  realm  of  religion.  It  is  the  only  in- 
stitution which  can  train  them  to  take  life  in  re- 
ligious terms  of  love,  and  which  can  habituate 
them  to  the  life  of  a  spiritual  democracy.  The 
family  does  not  do  this,  for  it  has  largely  lost  sight 
of  its  educational  responsibility  and  its  religious 
function.  The  public  school  cannot  formally 
touch  the  subject  of  religion,  and  it  would  be  ex- 
ceedingly difficult  to  instruct  the  young  in  a  re- 
ligious way  of  life  while  debarred  from  mention- 
ing religion  or  using  any  religious  literature. 
True,  many  public  schools  do  develop  essentially 
religious  motives,  but  they  are,  even  in  the  few 
cases  where  they  have  a  spiritual  aim,  seriously 
limited  by  necessary  and  proper  civil  restrictions. 
The  church  is  the  single  social  institution  of  re- 
ligion, and  its  schools  are  the  only  agencies  train- 
ing children  in  religious  living.  That  is  to  say, 
that  the  schools  of  the  churches — Sunday  schools 
and  week-day  schools — are  the  means  upon  which 
our  democracy  depends  to  give  the  citizens  of  to- 
morrow training  in  the  one  spirit  which  makes 
life  possible  in  the  future. 

That  point  of  view  ought  to  give  new  dignity 
and  seriousness  to  our  work.  It  ought  to  pro- 
voke grave  thoughts  whenever  we  look  out  over 
children  assembled  for  religious  instruction.  Here 
something  is  being  done  which  goes  far  beyond 
imparting  knowledge  about  the  Bible,  here  the 

40 


THE  NEW  SCHOOL  IN  A  NEW  DAY 

state  of  tomorrow  is  being  educated  in  those  mo- 
tives, ideals  and  habits  which  will,  if  fully  ap- 
plied, make  tomorrow  a  world  of  the  family  of  the 
most  high,  will  make  men  a  true  brotherhood. 

But  such  considerations  have  most  practical 
applications.  They  lead  one  to  study  the  con- 
tent of  teaching  in  this  school.  How  far  are  the 
courses  modified  by  the  thought  of  tomorrow's 
need?  How  far  are  the  lessons  designed  to  pre- 
pare for  living  in  a  Christian  order  of  society? 
To  what  degree  is  the  concept  of  the  Kingdom 
of  God  brought  into  a  realizable  fact  for  the  child? 
How  many  teachers  think  of  their  pupils  as  per- 
sons who  will  make,  or  mar,  tomorrow's  world? 
Does  the  Sunday  school  get  people  ready  to  real- 
ize the  will  of  God  in  a  common,  cooperating  so- 
ciety of  good-will,  or  is  it  still  seeking  only  to 
*^save  souls,"  to  get  them  ready  for  some  kingdom 
beyond  the  skies?  No  mechanisms,  new  or  old,  will 
avail  much  unless  there  is  serious  endeavor  to 
make  the  school  function  for  a  religiously  minded 
citizenship.  No  reputation  of  up-to-dateness  nor 
of  bigness  in  a  school  will  long  avail  unless  that 
school  is  really  producing  socially  minded  per- 
sons who  take  life  in  terms  of  love  and  service. 


A  KEW  BB9P0NSIBILJTY 

Here  we  must  freely  and  fully  accept  our  re- 
sponsibility; the  school  is  answerable  to  the  world 
to  give  it  rightly  mifided  youth.  It  does  not  exist 
to  make  a  sect  grow  in  numbers ;  it  does  not  exist 
to  glorify  a  church;  it  does  exist  in  the  highest 

41 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

sense  to  save  the  world  through  the  children, 
to  save  the  world  from  sectional  hatred,  to  save 
it  from  feud,  from  suicidal  rivalries,  from  selfish- 
ness that  breeds  conflict,  from  low  aims,  from  the 
loss  of  its  soul.  It  has  the  children ;  it  has  a  clear 
field  in  religion.  If  it  devotes  itself  directly  to 
preparing  their  lives  for  the  future  it  can  and  it 
must  give  us  men  and  women  who  will  think  bet- 
ter, more  wisely,  see  farther,  plan  more  with  the 
wisdom  of  love  and  make  a  better  business  of  this 
world  life  than  we  have  done. 

But  how  is  the  ideal  to  he  realized?  The  an- 
swer lies,  principally,  not  in  specific  details  of 
this  course  of  lessons  or  the  other  on  democracy, 
nor  in  methods  of  organization  along  social  lines, 
but  in  the  application,  at  all  points,  of  a  single 
guiding  principle :  The  main  business  of  the  school 
is  to  train  in  living  the  life  of  a  loving,  righteous 
society. 

The  new  school  is  controlled  hy  its  social  task. 
The  school  that  faces  the  new  world  life  will  put 
this  test  to  aU  its  activities,  to  lessons,  worship 
and  service  of  all  kinds;  in  what  ways  does  this 
help  these  children  to  understand  and  practice  the 
life  of  a  religious  world?  Does  this  lesson  point 
to  life?  Does  this  worship  move  toward  life? 
No  new  courses  of  lessons  will  help  much  unless 
we  apply  this  test  ahvays.  No  courses  of  les- 
sons, old  or  new,  are  likely  to  be  entirely  value- 
less when  this  test  is  applied  to  them,  when  an 
endeavor  is  made  to  direct  them  toward  actual 
living.  The  prime  essential  is  a  group  of  men, 
officers  and  teachers,  who  habitually  think  about 

42 


THE  NEW  SCHOOL  IN  A  NEW  DAY 

all  the  school  in  this  way,  who  are  always  looking 
for  living  realities,  who  see  children  as  people 
who  are  living  lives  and  who  can  be  trained  to 
live  religious  lives. 

We  must  often  remind  ourselves  that  there  is 
nothing  more  sacred  than  this  present  life,  that 
the  past  is  hallowed  only  as  it  serves  to  inspire 
and  lead  the  present.  We  must  often  call  to  mind 
the  fact  that  the  great  teacher,  Jesus,  taught  men 
about  their  own  lives,  about  their  social  relations 
and  about  the  future  of  society.  We  must  picture 
him  as  he  talked  of  common-place  things,  of  every- 
day events,  of  fishers,  and  house-wives  and  farm- 
ers. That  was  intensely  real  to  all  who  listened ; 
it  was  their  real  life.  How  different  from  the 
feeling  of  the  boy  whom  we  try  to  carry  back, 
through  the  vehicles  of  literature  and  archeology, 
into  the  days  of  Abraham.  For  one  thing  we 
never  get  him  back  and,  for  another,  he  does  not 
have  to  live  back  there;  he  is  living  here.  Ke- 
ligion  is  for  the  here  and  now  to  make  the  pos- 
sible tomorrow.  The  new  school  will  not  shrink 
from  the  world  in  which  it  finds  itself.  It  must 
teach  the  life  of  this  world.  It  must  teach,  for 
example,  community  living  with  the  vision  that 
Isaiah  had  of  a  splendid  world,  a  place  fit  to  live 
in,  crowded  with  the  joy  of  life.  It  must  teach  the 
real  steps  by  which  communities  and  states  like 
that  may  be  realized.  It  must  teach  what  it  actu- 
ally means  to  be  a  Christian  in  the  factory,  as  a 
worker  at  the  bench,  in  the  office  or  the  direc- 
torate; what  it  means  to  be  a  Christian,  a  mem- 
ber of  a  society  of  common  love,  in  a  grocery,  in 

43 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODEEN  CHUECH 

a  railroad-engine  cab,  in  the  mines  and  the  fields. 
These  are  the  realities  of  life  to  the  young.  It 
must  teach  children  their  own  social  relations,  in 
the  family,  the  school,  the  community  life. 

One  word  of  caution  may  be  necessary.  We 
have  spoken  much  of  the  future,  but  the  only  way 
to  educate  for  the  future  is  to  train  by  life  in  the 
present.  The  only  way  to  make  a  child  an  ef- 
fective religious  social  person  in  the  future  is  to 
train  him  in  the  experience  of  religious  social  liv- 
ing as  a  child.  In  teaching  for  world  life  we  must 
teach  by  aiding  the  child  to  realize  his  own  imme- 
diate child  life  in  religious  terms.  Do  not  burden 
him  with  the  weight  of  coming  years.  If  he  really 
lives  his  present  life  religiously  he  will  grow  in 
the  power  to  live  every  new  stage  as  it  comes  in  a 
religious  spirit.  The  whole  school  may  be  made 
an  experience  of  living  in  a  world  devoted  to  kind- 
ness, to  the  enriching,  harmonizing  and  lightening 
of  all  life. 

THE  FORWARD  LOOK 

The  Sunday  school  of  any  age  must  he  a  pro- 
phetic institution.  Its  duty  is  to  the  future;  its 
business  is  to  prepare  lives  for  coming  days.  The 
Sunday  school  of  this  day  must  prepare  boys  and 
girls  for  living  in  the  new  day  that  awaits  them. 
We  have  been  praying  ^'Thy  Kingdom  come^'  so 
long  that  we  have  forgotten  that  the  prayer  may 
be  heard,  is  being  answered  and  the  kingdom  is 
coming.  It  may  be  much  nearer  than  we  expect. 
It  eludes  our  observation.  Yet  no  man  can  survey 
the  signs  of  the  times  without  believing  that  we 

44 


THE  NEW  SCHOOL  IN  A  NEW  DAY 

are  entering  on  a  new  era,  the  era  of  social  living. 
The  church  has  at  last  an  awakened  conscience 
for  social  conditions;  she  is  beginning  to  gird 
herself  for  a  warfare  against  all  that  hinders  the 
full  and  free  life  of  every  man;  she  sees  coming 
the  day  of  which  angel  songs  long  ago  prophesied, 
when  there  shall  be  peace  on  earth  because  there 
is  good-will  amongst  men.  We  must  believe  in 
the  progi'am  of  the  kingdom  which  shall  substi- 
tute the  spirit  of  Jesus  for  the  rampant  spirit  of 
modem  commercial  greed,  which  shall  substitute 
the  helping  hand  for  the  mailed  fist,  which  shall 
lift  little  children  to  bless  them  instead  of  grind- 
ing them  in  cotton  and  glass  mills  to  curse  them. 

The  new  Sunday  school  is  getting  ready  for  the 
Kingdom.  It  is  teaching  children  the  program  of 
the  Kingdom.  It  has  recovered  from  a  false  em- 
phasis which  made  it  more  important  for  children 
to  memorize  the  Israelitish  wanderings  in  the 
wilderness  than  to  avoid  wandering  in  the  modem 
moral  wilderness. 

The  new  Sunday  school  believes  that  it  is  mak- 
ing the  new  day.  Its  work  is  based  on  the  prin- 
ciple that  the  heart  of  all  problems  is  in  the  hu- 
man heart  and  the  hope  of  any  progress  lies  here, 
too.  The  new  day  comes  through  lives  renewed 
in  purposes,  in  spiritual  power,  directed  by  vi- 
sions of  a  future  of  love  and  righteousness.  The 
school  makes  the  new  day  by  training  lives  in  a 
new  power  and  a  new  spirit. 


45 


CHAPTEE  lY 
THE  SCHOOL  AND  THE  CHURCH 

The  Sunday  school  differs  from  the  public  school 
in  many  respects;  one  of  the  most  important  is 
the  fact  that  it  is  not  an  independent  institution; 
it  is  part  of  a  much  larger  one.  The  Sunday 
school  is  the  school  of  the  church.  It  is  the  church 
engaged  directly  in  discharging  one  of  its  funda- 
mental functions,  that  of  education.  The  school 
is  responsible  to  the  church,  when  the  church  is 
considered  as  an  agency  for  realizing  the  divine 
society  on  earth,  and  the  church  is  responsible  for 
the  school. 

In  many  respects  the  school  is  leading  the 
church.  The  propaganda  conducted  by  its  lead- 
ers has  compelled  the  church  to  give  a  new  and 
more  fitting  place  to  childhood.  Often  it  has  quick- 
ened the  church  to  a  keener  realization  of  the 
practical  aspects  of  Christian  living.  It  has  held 
aloft  the  educational  ideal.  But,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  progress  of  the  school  is  conditioned 
on  the  leadership  of  the  church.  It  is  often  re- 
tarded by  the  ignorance  and  indifference  of  pas- 
tors and  leaders.  Its  activities  are  limited  by  the 
adult  attitude,  essentially  a  selfish  one,  which  re- 
gards the  church  as  existing  primarily  for  the  com- 
fort and  nurture,  and  sometimes  for  the  entertain- 
ment of  adults.    The  school  cannot  discharge  its 

46 


THE  SCHOOL  AISFD  THE  CHUECH 

serious  duty  in  society  until  it  is  supported  fitting- 
ly by  the  church,  until  it  is  sustained  by  an  in- 
telligent appreciation  of  the  importance  of  its 
work  and  a  thorough  understanding  of  its  educa- 
tional processes. 


THE  RIGHTS  OF  THE  SCHOOL 

In  view  of  the  large  tasks  outlined  for  the  mod- 
em school  the  church  must  treat  it  seriously.  The 
churches  must  own  the  schols,  not  as  annexes  but 
as  integral  parts.  The  school  is  the  church  edu- 
cating youth  in  religious  living.  Whatever  the 
church  does  for  the  school  is  not  an  act  of  charity, 
a  donation  to  the  needy,  but  an  act  of  self-preser- 
vation, self -perpetuation  and  promotion,  and  it  is 
more,  it  is  a  discharging  of  the  function  of  the 
church  to  save  the  world. 

1.  The  church  must  treat  the  school  seriously 
enough  to  give  it  adequate  physical  equipment. 
The  test  of  an  edifice  used  to  be  its  acoustic  prop- 
erties ;  it  will  come  to  be  its  educational  facilities. 
We  will  design  churches,  not  simply  to  impress 
the  denomination  nor  even  to  humiliate  our  sec- 
tarian neighbors,  but  specifically  for  their  place 
and  service  in  society.  We  will  cease  to  put  ninety 
per  cent  of  our  money  into  a  large  lounging  room 
for  the  grown-up  saint  and  ten  per  cent  of  our 
money,  with  ninety  per  cent  of  our  furniture  junk, 
into  a  basement  for  the  youthful  saint.  Until  the 
building  is  really  designed  for  the  needs  of  grow- 
ing boys  and  girls  the  churches  are  not  taking 
seriously  the  society  of  tomorrow. 

47 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

If  the  Sunday  school  has  so  large  a  task  the 
churches  will  be  willing  to  invest  in  the  school. 
The  public  school  is  a  public  investment.  Nobody 
expects  to  get  his  taxes  back  from  the  school  fund 
with  six  per  cent  interest  in  c-ash.  No  one  is 
foolish  enough  to  propose  that  public  schools 
should  be  made  financially  and  directly  productive 
so  as  to  help  pay  the  salaries  of  the  official  orna- 
ments in  the  city  hall.  .  The  public  asks  not  for 
direct,  but  for  indirect  results.  It  freely  invests 
taxes  in  the  public  school  for  the  profit  in  per- 
sonality. Does  the  religious  public  take  as  rea- 
sonable an  attitude  toward  the  Sunday  school? 
On  the  contrary  it  frequently  tends  to  measure  the 
school  by  its  contribution  to  the  pastor's  salary 
or  to  some  other  special  fund  in  the  church. 

2.  The  church  must  invest  through  workers  and 
the  maintenance  of  the  schools.  It  is  not  right 
to  demand  that  men  and  women  should  give  so 
large  a  proportion  of  their  time  as  the  Sunday 
school  now  requires  unless  they  are  set  free  from 
other  responsibilities  and  the  burden  of  Sunday 
school  service  is  lightened  for  them  by  providing 
them  with  proper  facilities  both  for  study  and  for 
service. 

Each  denomination  must  come  to  see  that  its 
Sunday-school  organization,  its  denominational 
Sunday-school  machinery,  is  not  simply  a  means 
of  making  money  with  which  to  carry  on  other 
enterprises,  but  is  an  opportunity  for  wise  in- 
vestment. So  great  a  task  demands  the  invest- 
ment of  mind  and  energy  in  study  and  experi- 
mentation.   There  alwavs  were  fools  to  laugh  at 

48 


THE  SCHOOL  AND  THE  CHURCH 

men  like  Edison  and  Diesel  because  they  puttered 
in  workshops  instead  of  hiring  themselves  out  and 
making  wages.  So  there  are  always  those  who 
scoff  at  the  Sunday-school  people  who  work  out 
new  theories,  schemes,  curricula  and  plans  for 
better  work,  but,  if  we  are  to  do  with  any  degree 
of  efficiency  the  work  of  the  kingdom,  we  will 
have  to  do  what  every  great  organization  does, 
devote  men  and  devote  money  to  laboratories  for 
experiments  which  will  pave  the  way  for  progress. 
3.  So  large  a  task  demands  that  we  take  se- 
riously the  equipment  of  the  worker.  The  pastors 
must  be  trained  to  at  least  a  sympathetic  under- 
standing of  this  institution  under  their  guidance. 
They  cannot  lead  an  educational  agency  while  they 
remain  ignorant  of  modern  education,  ignorant 
often  of  the  very  existence  of  its  large  body  of 
technical  literature.  Of  course,  teachers  must  be 
trained  and  the  times  demand  efficiencies  not 
easily  acquired.  The  Sunday  school  of  today  de- 
mands a  teacher  who  really  can  train  child  life. 
It  will  not  be  satisfied  with  one  who  has  dawdled 
through  twelve  juvenile  lessons  on  the  Old  and 
the  New  Testament  and  twelve  childish  per- 
formances in  memorizing  platitudes  about  psy- 
chology and  pedagogy.  To  train  workers  and  to 
get  such  institutions  there  must  be  an  adequate 
corps  of  experts  who  devote  their  whole  time  to 
that.  Instead  of  a  few  churches  here  and  there 
— not  over  two  hundred  churches  in  the  whole 
country  having  trained  educators  devoting  their 
whole  time  to  the  Sunday  school — the  average 
village  and  city  church  will  see  the  necessity  for 

49 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

such  a  worker.  Churclies  are  so  poor  because  they 
have  failed  to  train  enough  competent  workers  to 
handle  the  equipment.  They  are  so  near  ship- 
wreck often  because  they  do  not  hire  enough  hands 
for  the  boat  and  so  often  expect  the  same  man 
to  be  pilot,  engineer,  stewart,  band-master  and 
ship  doctor. 

4.  Another  condition  of  adequate  service  will 
be  a  neio  alignment  in  the  local  church  orgamiza- 
tion,  an  alignment  based  on  functions.  If  we 
admit  that  the  function  of  the  Sunday  school  is 
by  educational  processes  to  develop  Christian 
character  in  the  young,  then  we  must  commit  that 
task  wholly  to  this  school.  All  work  under  that 
function  belongs  to  it.  Churches  are  attempting 
the  religious  education  of  youth  by  the  Sunday 
school,  Junior  Societies  and  Young  People  ^s  So- 
cieties, Boy  Scouts,  King's  Daughters,  Girl  Scouts, 
Kjiights  of  Arthur  and  the  innumerable  array 
of  defunct  fraternities  to  be  found  in  every  school. 
They  are  attempting  the  functions  of  the  school 
of  religion  every  day  of  the  week  through  various 
agencies  such  as  these.  The  Sunday  school  must 
cease  to  be  simply  a  weekly  round-up  of  restless 
youngsters  and  become  the  school  of  the  church. 
Let  the  church  ask  of  all  these  organizations, 
knocking  at  her  doors  and  bidding  for  the  time  of 
her  people,  what  right  have  they  to  admittance. 
Why  should  we  have  Young  People's  Societies! 
Simply  because  once  there  was  a  place  for  such 
societies  and  now  there  is  a  national  organization 
to  keep  them  in  existence,  fortified  with  buttons, 
badges,  banners,  conventions,  and  constitutions? 

50 


THE  SCHOOL  AND  THE  CHUECH 

Why  should  we  have  a  Junior  Brotherhood?  Sim- 
ply because  we  have  a  senior  Brotherhood  and 
the  one  must  be  the  knickerbockers  to  the  other's 
trousers!  If  these  and  other  organizations  serve 
the  great  purpose  of  the  church  in  religion,  in 
what  way  do  they  serve?  By  instruction,  inspira- 
tion, by  activity,  or  by  social  grouping?  Where 
do  they  belong? 

What  about  the  function  of  the  Young  People's 
Societies?  Are  they  to  be  imitations  of  the  eve- 
ning service  which  beat  the  preachers  to  the  post 
and  have  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  the  crowd  slip 
out  before  he  can  begin,  or  are  they  to  be  the 
groupings  of  youth  in  the  divisions  of  their 
natural  social  integration  for  the  purpose  of  Chris- 
tian culture  and  service  ?  If  the  latter  they  belong 
in  the  educational  work  of  the  church  and  there- 
fore they  are  a  part  of  the  school  of  the  church. 
Their  special  opportunity  is  to  design  and  guide 
religious  activities  for  the  life  of  the  young  people 
at  precisely  the  time  when  they  need  religious 
activities.  The  chance  here  is  to  take  these  young 
people  who  have  been  taught  the  ways  of  the 
kingdom  and  let  them  go  out  into  their  communi- 
ties and  realize  the  good  of  which  they  have 
learned  and  for  which  they  pray.  The  Young 
People's  Society  ought  to  be  the  Sunday  school 
at  work. 

What  of  the  various  boy  and  girl  organizations  ? 
Are  they  any  more  than  varied  groupings  of  boys 
and  girls  in  order  to  accomplish  the  proper  pur- 
poses of  the  Sunday  school?  A  school  fully  con- 
scious of  its  task  would  embrace  all  the  life  of 

51 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

youth  and  find  scope  for  all  their  activities  in  the 
church  life.  Scouts,  Guilds,  social  organizations 
or  whatever  they  may  be,  all  either  have  a  place 
in  the  school's  full  program  or  they  have  no  place 
at  all.  At  present  churches  are  choked  with  ma- 
chinery, some  of  which  came  over  in  the  ark 
and  some  of  w^hich  is  marked  '^patent  applied 
for,''  very  little  of  it  fitting  together;  very  much 
of  it  simply  ' '  wheels  within  wheels ' '  without  work- 
ing efficiency.  Has  not  the  time  come  at  least  to 
group  together  all  that  a  church  is  doing  for  the 
life  of  the  youth  and  all  that  it  is  doing  directly 
for  the  development  of  religious  character  and  to 
put  all  this  into  one  department  to  be  known  as 
*^the  school  of  the  church  f  Then  examine  that 
department  thoroughly  to  see  if  it  has  adequate 
facilities,  sufficient  workers,  correct  methods  and 
material  for  its  task. 

AN  EDUCATIONAL  PEOGRAM 

5.  Yet  another  condition  of  adequate  service 
is  that  the  church  should  really  adopt  an  educa- 
tional program  for  the  life  of  youth.  We  must  be 
prepared  to  meet  the  criticisms  that  we  are  no 
longer  engaged  in  organizing  Bible  schools.  The 
Sunday  school  does  not  exist  to  teach  the  Bible; 
it  exists  to  teach  boys  and  girls.  It  uses  the  Bible 
as  its  material.  The  Bible  will  continue  to  be  its 
principal  text-book;  but  the  aim  of  the  school  is 
not  people  who  know  their  Bible,  but  people  who, 
because  they  know  and  love  their  Bibles,  know 
how  to  live.    The  school  will  be  determined,  not 

52 


THE  SCHOOL  AXD  THE  CHUECH 

by  literature  but  by  the  demands  of  life.  The 
Sunday  school  is  not  a  miniature  theological  semi- 
nary. It  is  a  school  of  the  religious  life.  Always 
its  course  of  action  and  its  methods  Trill  be  de- 
termined by  the  needs  of  the  religious  life.  It 
will  teach  the  Bible,  not  in  order  to  repeat  texts, 
but  in  order  to  repeat  in  our  day  the  power  and 
glory  of  the  Bible.  Of  course,  this  means  the 
graded  curriculum.  But  that  means  more  than  is 
generally  conceived. 

The  graded  curriculum  is  not  simply  the  adapta- 
tion of  a  certain  selected  body  of  material  to  the 
developing  mind  of  a  child,  it  is  the  selection  of  all 
material  according  to  the  developing  needs  of  a 
life.  It  involves  looking  at  the  child  and  asking, 
what  does  this  life  need  ?  TThat  are  the  problems, 
temptations,  and  dangers  of  his  daily  living? 
And  how  may  the  Sunday  school  meet  them  ?  The 
graded  curriculum  means  teaching  boys  to  be 
truthful,  honest,  lovers  of  their  fellows  and  ser- 
vants of  their  day.  The  graded  curriculum  means 
that  we  have  to  prepare  them  for  the  life  of  pub- 
lic school  and  high  school,  for  the  moral  test  and 
strain  of  the  street  and  home  and  playground, 
that  we  have  to  help  them  gain  the  ideals  and  mo- 
tives that  make  good  citizens  and  neighbors,  good 
fathers  and  mothers.  The  graded  curriculum 
means  a  systematic  leading  of  all  lives  out  into  the 
full  experience  of  a  God-willed  society.  It  has  a 
vei-y  definite  object,  so  clearly  conceived  as  a 
society  according  to  the  Christian  ideal  that  teach- 
ing never  loses  sight  of  it  nor  fails  to  find  expres- 
sion in  the  deeds  characteristic  of  the  members 

53 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHUBCH^ 

of  such  a  society.  The  church  is  concerned  al- 
ways, not  alone  with  the  adherence  of  class  teach- 
ing to  its  doctrinal  formulas,  but  with  the  question 
whether  the  school  is  really  sending  youth  out  into 
a  world  which  they  will  see  as  God's  world,  which 
they  will  be  able  to  make  more  and  more  the  world 
where  his  will  of  a  loving,  cooperating  society  is 
being  done.  In  this  school  the  church  is  most  of 
all  responsible  for  the  society  of  tomorrow. 

The  new  school  is  the  principal  opportunity, 
and  therefore  the  chief  responsibility  of  the  church 
in  realizing  those  social  ideals  upon  which  she  has 
been  insisting  in  recent  years.  The  so-called  so- 
cial gospel  must  be  more  than  a  declaration  of 
good  news  on  a  possible  better  world;  it  must 
show  the  way  to  its  realization;  it  must  make  the 
reality  possible.  The  twentieth  century  opened 
with  a  splendid  enthusiasm  for  social  righteous- 
ness; the  church  called  men  to  go  out  and  set 
right  the  world's  ancient  wrongs.  Much  has  been 
done ;  much  more  will  be  accomplished,  but  all  our 
experience  throws  us  back  on  the  fact  that  things 
never  will  be  right  until  men  are  right.  It  forces 
us  back  on  the  religious  method,  determining  the 
world  without  by  the  world  within.  The  world 
lies  in  the  wills  of  men ;  what  it  shall  be  is  being 
now  formed  in  our  hearts.  Here  rise  not  only 
right  ideas  and  right  motives  but  here  rise  also 
right  conditions,  for  conditions  do  not  make  them- 
selves ;  they  are  the  answer  to  our  purposes ;  they 
reflect  our  ideals.  If  we  would  have  a  new  earth 
it  must  be  first  established  in  the  wills  and  ideals 
of  men. 

54 


THE  SCHOOL  AND  THE  CHURCH 

Something  we  can  do  with  the  men  and  women 
of  today,  but  the  supreme  opportunity  is  with  the 
young;  they  are  tomorrow.  Is  this  what  Jesus 
meant  when  he  set  a  little  child  in  the  midst, 
when  he  said,  ^^Of  such  is  the  Kingdom  of 
Heaven  f ' '  That  new  world-order  lies  already  here 
in  these  wills  that  may  be  guided  and  developed, 
in  these  persons  who  may  be  devoted  to  its  ideals. 
Has  the  church  the  faith,  that  is,  the  forward 
look  to  make  its  largest  investment  in  lives  that 
are  in  the  making?  We  may  know  how  sincerely 
a  church  believes  in  the  social  gospel,  how  earn- 
estly it  desires  to  make  the  new  society  by  what 
it  does  for  the  society  that  is  in  its  hands,  this  so- 
ciety that  is  not  yet  fixed  in  its  ways,  that  is 
forming  its  purposes  and  acquiring  its  habits. 

How  large,  then,  becomes  the  place  of  the  school 
in  the  church  when  it  is  seen  as  the  means  by 
which  the  church  accomplishes  its  supreme  pur- 
pose of  causing  a  society  of  godlike  love,  justice 
and  goodness  to  come  on  earth.  Surely  it  is  in 
the  light  of  this  opportunity,  this  investment  in 
faith,  that  the  church  must  determine  what  it  will 
do  for  the  school,  what  the  budget  provision  shall 
be,  what  its  place  in  the  entire  program  shall  be 
and  what  working  forces  it  shall  have.  "What  right 
has  a  church  to  use  money  unless  it  place  first 
such  claims  as  these?  What  sort  of  stewardship 
is  it  that  provides  for  all  the  desires  and  needs 
of  adults  before  it  makes  provision  for  the  so- 
ciety of  tomorrow! 


55 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  SCIENTIFIC  BASIS  OF  THE  NEW  SCHOOL 

The  new  school  of  the  church  is  one  of  the  chil- 
dren of  our  modem  scientific  era.  It  differs,  to 
its  advantage,  from  many  other  modern  applica- 
tions of  science  in  that  it  stands  for  science  ap- 
plied to  lifers  highest  aims.  Modem  science  has 
contributed  very  little  to  the  enriching  of  human 
character,  but  the  work  of  the  school  has  taken 
that  little  and  made  the  most  of  it.  The  forces  of 
the  school  were  the  first  to  see  the  importance  of 
the  scientific  study  of  psychology;  they  were  the 
first  to  apply  the  findings  in  this  field  to  the  proc- 
esses of  the  development  of  persons  in  the  school. 
They  led  the  church  in  using  the  work  of  investi- 
gators in  the  psychology  of  religion.  It  is  doubtful 
whether  in  any  other  scientific  field  one  could  find 
a  larger  number  of  lay  students  than  have  been 
enrolled,  in  the  name  of  Sunday-school  work,  in 
the  subject  of  psychology  applied  to  teaching  and 
to  religious  work.  It  is  true  that  much  of  the 
work  has  been  very  elementary,  but  it  is  no  fault 
to  begin  at  the  beginning  provided  one  does  not 
stop  there.  It  is  true  that  some  of  the  material 
produced  in  the  name  of  science  has  been  simple 
nonsense,  but  it  is  to  be  expected  that  there  will 
arise  imitators  and  those  who  profit  by  the  cre- 

56 


SCIENTIFIC  BASIS  OF  THE  NEW  SCHOOL 

dulity  of  beginners.  The  significant  fact  is  tliat  the 
world  of  Sunday  school  workers  has  taken  to 
study  the  scientific  facts  in  personality  and  in 
religion. 

This  scientific  interest,  even  though  it  be  in  its 
beginnings,  has  a  significance  for  the  modem 
church.  Is  it  measuring  up  to  the  standard  set  by 
its  school?  There  must  be  a  scientific  basis  for 
the  whole  work  of  the  church.  Are  the  workers 
in  churches,  especially  the  ministers,  trained  in 
science,  the  science  of  their  work?  Are  they 
trained  to  recognize  the  facts  of  religion  and  to 
organize  those  facts?  Do  they  come  into  their 
work  with  anything  like  the  attitude  of  the  mod- 
em, well-trained  physician,  confident  of  the  facts 
of  his  profession,  capable  of  understanding  the 
phenomena  which  will  be  presented  to  him  in  his 
work?  If  not  it  is  time  for  the  whole  church  to 
learn  what  the  school  is  now  accepting,  that  there 
is  a  scientific  basis  for  religious  work  and  that  it 
would  be  an  irreverent  act  to  try  to  work  in 
ignorance  of  the  facts. 

There  is  still  so  much  prejudice,  especially 
amongst  the  ignorant,  in  regard  to  this  word 
science,  and  particularly  when  it  is  used  in  rela- 
tion to  religion,  that  it  may  be  well  to  make  sure 
that  we  understand  what  the  word  means.  When 
we  speak  of  a  scientific  basis  for  Sunday-school 
work  we  mean  a  basis  in  established  and  organized 
facts.  The  scientific  attitude  is  one  of  simple  rev- 
erence toward  facts ;  but  it  asks  for  all  the  facts  in 
any  case  and  for  their  relation  to  other  facts. 
When  the  school  proceeds  on  a  scientific  basis  it 

57 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

means  that  the  methods  it  employs  are  determined 
by  the  facts  which  have  been  ascertained  and 
understood  regarding  the  processes  involved,  that 
is  the  processes  in  the  minds  and  wills,  in  the  lives 
of  the  people  who  are  being  trained  in  the  school. 
A  scientist  is  not  one  who  worships  a  theory;  he 
is  one  who  walks  obediently  in  the  path  of  knowl- 
edge. 

Now  there  is  no  need  to  rehearse  the  argument 
for  the  training  of  school  teachers  and  officers  in 
the  psychology  of  religion  and  in  pedagogical 
method.  That  has  been  emphasized  many  times  in 
pleas  for  teacher-training  courses.  We  now  take 
it  for  granted  that  none  will  be  so  irreverent  as  to 
dare  to  approach  and  handle  the  sacred  structure 
of  human  souls  in  ignorance  of  their  laws.  But 
there  is  one  area  of  scientific  knowledge  which 
the  school  does  often  neglect.  It  tends  to  ignore 
the  facts  which  immediately  condition  its  work. 
The  scientific  worker  is  not  only  the  one  who  has 
grasped  the  facts  which  have  been  organized  into 
laws  concerning  the  pupils'  lives;,  he  also  grasps 
those  facts  which  are  a  part  of  the  pupil's  passing 
experience.  He  recognizes  that  his  work  is  de- 
termined by  the  conditions  under  which  pupils 
live,  by  their  health,  by  their  school  experience. 
He  follows  the  procedure  of  a  good  physician  who 
must  know,  not  alone  what  his  text-books  have  to 
say  on  general  principles,  but  also  what  are  all 
the  conditions  which  modify  the  patient's  health. 
Perhaps  many  of  our  failures  are  due  to  a  single- 
hearted  faith  in  the  general  principles  that  led 
us  to  forget  the  factors  working  in  the  life  of  the 

58 


SCIENTIFIC  BASIS  OF  THE  NEW  SCHOOL 

pupil ;  we  forgot  that  we  do  not  have  them  segre- 
gated, set  apart  for  an  unhindered  working  of  re- 
ligious processes.  They  are  set  in  life  and  life  is 
making  them  all  the  time.  "VYe  cannot  understand 
them,  nor  can  we  understand  what  is  taking  place 
in  them  until  we  have  all  the  facts  of  the  pupils' 
lives. 

It  is  never  easy  to  work  in  the  dark  unless  one 
is  trying  to  work  mischief.  Then  why  should 
Sunday-school  teachers  be  satisfied  to  work  in  the 
dark  as  to  practically  all  the  factors  in  their  work 
except  the  material  of  the  lesson?  In  the 
processes  toward  the  teacher's  ultimate  aim  of 
Christian  social  character  there  are  at  least  three 
factors  lying  almost  wholly  under  our  observa- 
tion; they  are :  the  lesson  experience,  the  daily  life 
of  the  pupil,  and  his  community  environment.  We 
have  assumed  we  could  reach  our  ends  by  knowing 
only  one  of  these  factors,  the  lesson.  But  we 
are  learning  how  small  is  its  fraction  of  interest 
and  influence,  like  the  fraction  of  time  it  occupies. 
All  the  others — ^practically  one  hundred  and  sixty- 
seven  hours  at  work  to  one  for  the  lesson — are 
working  always,  naturally  and  steadily  determin- 
ing the  kind  of  person  this  boy  or  girl  will  be. 

I.      KNOWING   THE   school's    COMMUNITY 

The  teacher's  work  is  conditioned  by  the  pupil's 
total  environment.  It  will  be  determined  very 
largely  by  a  knowledge  of  the  factors  that  work 
on  the  lives  of  pupils.  Ultimate  success  in  our 
work  waits  for  the  organization  of  these  many 

59 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHUECH 

factors  into  cooperation  with  the  work  of  the 
school.  But  before  we  can  secure  that  cooperation 
and  even  before  we  can  successfully  undertake 
our  immediate  tasks  we  must  know  what  are  the 
forces  with  which  we  may  cooperate,  what  are 
those  we  must  oppose,  and,  if  we  would  under- 
stand the  child,  we  must  know  all  that  environs 
him  and  therefore  enters  into  him  and  makes 
him. 

Here  is  a  report  of  a  community  survey,  under- 
taken by  twelve  schools  occupying  a  well-defined 
area  in  a  large  city.  Glance,  first  at  some  of  the 
general  and  striking  facts  revealed  by  this  sur- 
vey: It  covers  an  area  of  a  little  over  one  mile 
square,  embracing  a  population  of  over  45,000,  in 
a  district  having  no  saloons.  The  church  mem- 
bers number  16,285;  the  Sunday-school  members 
7,285,  considerably  less  than  half.  The  member- 
ship of  the  local  Masonic  lodge  is  only  50  less  than 
the  total  membership  of  the  eight  Protestant 
churches  involved.  The  seven  theaters  have  a 
seating  capacity  about  equal  to  the  churches  just 
mentioned;  but  there  is  a  striking  difference  be- 
tween the  waiting  lines  outside  the  theaters  and 
the  waiting  pews  inside  the  churches.  This 
survey  also  includes  some  others  of  the  different 
sets  of  facts  which  we  may  mention  as  part  of  any 
thorough  study  of  the  soil  in  which  boys  and  girls 
grow. 

What  are  the  facts  the  school  worker  needs? 
First,  to  determine  the  geographical  area.  How 
much  of  the  city  or  country-side  is  this  school  to 
be  held  responsible  for?     Make  a  large  outline 

60 


SCIENTIFIC  BASIS  OF  THE  NEW  SCHOOL 

map,  showing  the  bounds  and  the  included  streets 
or  highways. 

Second,  people.  How  many  are  there?  How 
fast  is  the  population  growing?  This  should  give 
a  clue  to  the  provision  the  school  should  make  in 
its  plant  for  the  future.  What  nationalities  and 
languages?  Here  is  another  clue  to  measure  the 
real  ministry  of  the  school  to  the  community.  In 
some  way  the  facts  gathered  ought  to  show  the 
general  grade  of  intelligence.  There  is  a  differ- 
ence between  the  type  of  school  needed  in  a  col- 
lege community  and  one  needed  in  a  strictly  in- 
dustrial section.  The  study  of  people  should,  of 
course,  include  the  census  of  Sunday-school  pu- 
pils, making  special  lists  of  those  who  are  receiv- 
ing religious  instruction  in  parochial  schools,  in 
synagog  classes  and  Hebrew  schools  and  the  like. 

Third,  should  come  the  study  of  cooperating 
agencies.  Under  this,  first,  the  churches  and  the 
facts  of  their  membership,  a  survey  of  buildings, 
Sunday-school  buildings,  recreation  facilities  and 
working  forces.  Then  the  public  schools  with  the 
facts  of  their  enrollment.  Here,  too,  is  the  place 
for  a  discriminating  study  of  the  schools.  We 
cannot  expect  them  to  do  the  work  of  the  churches 
in  teaching  religion,  but  we  do  rightly  expect  that 
they  will  not  oppose  or  antagonize  that  work;  we 
have  a  right  to  expect  a  friendly  and  cooperative 
spirit. 

Other  cooperating  community  agencies  would 
be  the  public  libraries,  colleges  and  like  institu- 
tions, daily  and  weekly  papers,  clubs  and  societies. 
The  first  should  be  studied  as  a  directly  cooperat- 

61 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

ing  agency  capable  of  a  tremendous  power  in  di- 
recting the  reading  of  the  young.  Local  news- 
papers are  forces,  not  alone  of  publicity  as  or- 
dinarily understood,  but  of  educational  possi- 
bilities, still  unused  by  the  schools.  The  clubs 
should  include  the  different  forms  of  social  or- 
ganizations which  offer  entertainment  to  the 
young.  The  Mothers'  clubs  and  similar  groups 
will  often  enter  into  real  cooperation  with  the 
school  through  reading  courses,  series  of  lessons 
and  lectures  on  religious  education.  The  educa- 
tional groups,  such  as  reading  circles,  may  be  co- 
ordinated to  the  work  of  the  school  with  youths 
and  adults. 

Next  come  community  agencies  of  the  recrea- 
tional groups.  We  ought  to  know  how  much  play- 
space  the  city  provides,  whether  it  is  adequate 
for  all  its  boys  and  girls  that  they  may  get  the 
free  education  that  comes  through  play.  Then 
whether  it  is  supervised  and  properly  directed. 
What  is  the  relation  of  school  playgrounds  and 
of  church  gymnasiums  and  similar  facilities  to  the 
whole  recreational  plan  of  the  community?  Has 
any  one  thought  that  there  could  be  a  unified  pro- 
gram of  recreation  based  on  definite  ideals  for 
youth  character?  The  playing  opportunities  are 
one  of  the  most  important  allies  of  the  Sunday 
school. 

The  survey  must  include  the  commercial  amvse- 
ment  agencies  of  a  social  appeal,  the  theaters  and 
''movie''  houses,  poolrooms  and  dance  halls.  Take 
them  all  in,  get  as  much  of  the  statistical  mate- 
rial as  you  can,  but  get  also  the  color  material  so 

62 


SCIENTIFIC  BASIS  OF  THE  NEW  SCHOOL 

as  to  be  able  to  show  with  fairness  their  influence 
on  the  ideals  and  habits  of  youth.  Seek  to  dis- 
cover both  allies  and  enemies,  the  forces  that  may 
cooperate  and  those  that  must  be  counted  on  to 
oppose. 

Perhaps  this  looks  like  a  general  community 
survey.  No;  so  far  it  omits  many  details  that 
would  be  in  a  community  survey ;  but  if  the  gath- 
ering of  the  facts  of  the  community  life  of  Sun- 
day-school pupils  can  be  done  as  part  of  a  general 
survey  of  the  community  so  much  the  better.  The 
main  point  is  to  get  it  done  somehow,  so  that  we 
may  no  longer  try  to  work  out  a  big  problem 
with  three  of  the  four  factors  unknown. 

What  shall  he  done  mth  these  facts?  First, 
chart  them.  Put  them  on  your  outline  map.  By 
colors  show  densities  of  population;  that  may 
show  your  school  stranded  on  an  island  of  respect- 
able childlessness.  In  colors  show  the  schools,  li- 
braries and  recreational  agencies  that  can  be 
counted  on  to  help ;  put  all  your  allies  in  one  color 
with  designating  signs.  Then  put  your  enemies 
in  another  color,  showing  up  the  saloons,  pool- 
rooms and  dance  halls.  Next,  put  your  facts  into 
graphic  form  with  large  diagrams  and  set  the 
story  into  such  a  form  that  any  one  can  see  what 
are  the  things  making  for  better  boys  and  girls, 
and  just  what  the  needs  of  the  community  are 
from  the  character-growing  and  religious  view- 
point. Put  all  these  graphic  presentations  into  a 
public  exhibit  in  order  to  educate  your  commu- 
nity. 

But,  for  the  immediate  purposes  of  the  teach- 
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THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHUECH 

ers,  the  two  must  important  steps  yet  remain; 
they  are,  first,  to  analyze  the  reports  so  as  to  de- 
termine the  equipment,  policy,  program,  curric- 
ulum and  the  plans  of  cooperation  for  the  school, 
and,  second,  to  put  the  facts  at  the  command  of 
every  teacher  through  a  series  of  group  studies 
and  by  a  classification  of  the  facts  in  a  ready- 
reference  form,  as  on  cards  and  in  scrap  books, 
so  that  any  teacher  may  always  have  before  him 
or  her  a  fairly  definite  and  accurate  picture  of  the 
environment  in  which  the  students  are  growing 
and  the  forces  which  are  daily  touching  and  mak- 
ing that  life.  But  do  not  let  the  facts  on  paper 
fail  to  draw  you  often  to  know  the  facts  at  first- 
hand in  person. 

n.      KNOWING  THE   PUPIL 'S  UFB 

We  have  already  spoken  of  the  need  for  a  sur- 
vey and  study  of  the  community  environment  in 
which  the  pupils  live  and  grow.  The  next  step 
is  a  more  difficult  and  exact  one,  and  one  even 
more  necessary.  It  brings  us  much  closer  to  the 
ultimate  task  and  aim  of  all  Sunday-school  teach- 
ing, the  growth  of  persons  into  godlikeness  and 
into  a  godwilled  society.  We  need  to  know  just 
how,  in  all  his  life,  this  person  is  grooving.  With- 
out that  knowledge  it  is  quite  impossible  for  us  to 
work  intelligently  toward  his  development  as  a 
religious  person. 

No  one  can  teach  who  cannot  get  beyond  the 
pupiPs  ears  and,  in  imagination,  beyond  the  row 
of  faces  around  the  class.    Getting  at  what  we  call 

64 


SCIENTIFIC  BASIS  OF  THE  NEW  SCHOOL 

the  real  boy  and  girl  does  demand  imagination, 
bnt  it  cannot  be  done  by  the  imagination  alone. 
Imagination  has  value  only  as  it  vitalizes  facts. 
A  brilliant  imagination  cannot  atone  for  ignor- 
ance ;  it  is  efficient  only  in  leading  us  astray  if  it 
is  innocent  of  acquaintance  with  facts. 

We  try  hard  to  teach  the  real  boys  and  girls; 
but  what  a  surprise  it  would  be  if  we  could  fol- 
low some  of  them  for  a  week.  We  would  find  that 
they  lived  in  another  world,  spoke  another  tongue 
when  they  were  spontaneous  and  free,  and  came 
to  Sunday  school  only  to  wonder  what  it  was  all 
about  and  to  bear  with  what  patience  they  could 
the  time  that  would  elapse  before  they  could  go 
out  and  live  again.  In  such  a  case  any  benefits 
derived  are  usually  accidental. 

What  are  the  facts  which  imagination  needs  as 
a  basis  and  what  are  the  facts  which  we  need  in 
order  to  note  the  whole  process  of  the  pupil's 
growth  as  a  life?  Perhaps  some  of  the  most-de- 
sired facts  are  not  obtainable;  still  there  will  be 
enough  remaining  to  furnish  a  reasonable  basis 
for  work. 

First,  the  facts  of  environment.  Given  his  name, 
age  and  race,  in  addition  to  the  general  wider 
environment  of  the  community  already  described, 
we  need  to  see  the  immediate  setting  of  this  life, 
the  things  that  daily  touch  him  most  intimately. 
This  will  include :  number  of  living  parents,  their 
nationalities,  general  characters ;  names  and  ages 
of  brothers  and  sisters;  number  of  wage-earners 
in  the  family;  family  customs  (as  ^'prayer"), 
playing    together,     excursions,    vacations.     The 

65 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

home;  number  of  rooms,  general  health  condi- 
tions, type  of  neighbors,  do  children  play  at 
home?  Books  in  the  house?  Music,  pictures, 
habits  as  to  amusements.  As  to  meals,  is  there 
a  real  family  life  here  1 

The  immediate  personal  factors:  Height, 
weight,  health  condition,  any  special  features  of 
physical  condition  (as  adenoids,  enlarged  tonsils, 
deformities).  While  this  is  not  a  physician's  sur- 
vey, remember  one  is  dealing  with  a  person  whose 
conduct  is  determined,  whose  habits  may  be 
formed  by  such  handicaps  as  these  mentioned. 
It  is  necessary  to  know  whether  this  boy,  or  girl, 
has  his  full  right  of  physical  foundations  for  the 
efficient  life.  Further,  without  prying  inquisition 
but  in  the  pure  confidence  of  a  real  friend,  any 
teacher  who  really  is  a  leader  to  boys  or  girls 
can  know  many  of  the  most  intimate  facts  of  their 
lives,  revealing  the  need  of  helpful  guidance  and 
counsel. 

Next  come  the  facts  of  the  pupil's  wider  world. 
Here,  first,  the  school ;  his  grade,  record  of  prog- 
ress and  present  standing,  as  indicative,  in  a  gen- 
eral way,  of  the  intellectual  factors.  It  would  help 
the  Sunday-school  teacher  immensely  if  he  might 
have  always  before  him  the  lists  of  the  studies 
his  pupils  are  taking  in  day  school  and  elsewhere. 
He  would  have,  in  a  measure,  their  intellectual 
background;  he  could  coordinate  his  teaching  to 
their  knowledge  and  present  interests;  he  would 
find  in  their  studies  many  a  point  of  contact  for 
his  teaching. 

Next,  the  facts  of  the  pupiVs  life  of  action;  his 
66 


SCIENTIFIC  BASIS  OF  THE  NEW  SCHOOL 

everyday  experiences  outside  of  the  home  and  the 
school.  This  wonld  include :  hours  of  play,  groups, 
kinds  of  play,  special  hobbies  and  interests.  Be 
sure  to  get  in  the  special  phase  of  the  collecting 
tendency,  the  keen  interest  in  aeroplanes,  wire- 
less, or  it  may  be,  dolls,  domestic  economy  or  poli- 
tics, clubs,  societies,  groups  and  gangs,  general 
use  of  leisure  hours.  Perhaps  the  members  of  the 
class  are  wage-earners,  then  get  the  group  of  facts 
on  types  of  employment,  hours,  wages  and  forms 
of  expenditure. 

The  facts  should  cover  the  life  of  the  pupil,  this 
life  he  lives  in  the  one  hundred  and  sixty-seven 
hours  when  he  is  not  in  the  class.  They  should 
be  gathered,  not  as  a  dry  tabulation  of  barren 
figures  but  in  the  light  of  the  fact  that  all  that 
happens  in  all  those  hours,  whether  in  school  or 
out,  is  part  of  his  real  educational  experience,  is 
working  in  growing  him  either  into  a  finer, 
stronger,  cleaner  man  or  toward  a  lower,  menac- 
ing type.  Here  is  where  imagination  should  play 
its  part  in  helpiQg  us  to  see  the  facts  as  sjnnbols 
of  forces  which  are  always  working,  forces  which 
are  as  close  about  the  life  as  soil  and  sunshine  and 
shower  to  the  plant. 

!  Now  what  shall  we  do  with  these  facts  of  the 
pupil's  life?  There  are  two  immediate  uses  for 
the  teacher.  First,  they  form  the  material  from 
which  there  may  be  constructed  a  typical  schedule 
of  every  pupil's  week.  Devote  a  large  sheet  to 
each  one  and  divide  it  into  generous  spaces  of 
days  and  hours.  Then  put  into  each  space  the 
occupation  of  that  time.    If  you  want  to  make  it 

67 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODEEN  CHURCH 

graphic  show  the  proportions  of  work,  study  and 
play.  Of  course  the  form  of  proportions  would 
vary  greatly  according  to  age.  But  the  results 
will  indicate  where  the  life  needs  guidance. 

Another  use  will  be  in  the  preparation  of  a  care- 
ful, sympathetic  analytical  study  of  each  pupil. 
Suppose  you  take  them  up  with  a  physician's 
care,  as  cases.  Write  down  in  a  note-book  all  you 
know  about  each  one.  The  book  is  not  an  analysis 
of  detective  material;  it  should  be,  for  your  own 
guidance  and  illumination,  an  attempt  to  under- 
stand the  life  you  are  seeking  to  lead  out  and  up. 
Of  course,  it  will  have  value  only  as,  at  every 
point,  it  gains  vitality  from  your  personal  associ- 
ation with  the  real  boy.  It  has  value  only  in  so 
far  as  it  shows  you  what  material  you  work  with 
and  what  is  happening  all  the  time  in  that  mate- 
rial. 

One  might  make  a  survey  of  this  kind  on  the 
basis  of  the  ^^ Standard  Efficiency  Program" 
Charts  for  Boys  used  by  the  Canadian  Young 
Men's  Christian  Associations  and  now  being  re- 
vised for  use  in  this  country.  These  set  up  a 
number  of  standards  in  particulars,  activities,  in- 
terests and  needs,  classifying  them  under  the 
heads  of  Intellectual,  Physical,  Religious  and 
Service.  The  whole  plan,  which  is  quite  elaborate, 
will  furnish  a  number  of  excellent  suggestions 
particularly  as  to  points  at  which  one  may  watch 
the  elements  in  character  development.  Sunday- 
school  teachers  would  do  well  to  study  this  plan 
and  cooperate  with  it  as  far  as  possible.  But  it 
must  be  supplemented  by  the  detailed  study  of  the 

68 


SCIENTIFIC  BASIS  OF  THE  NEW  SCHOOL 

boy's  daily,  actual  experience  which  has  been  out- 
lined above. 

The  one  thing  most  important  is  to  be  sure  that 
one  is  dealing  with  a  real  person,  not  with  the 
hypothetical  being  constructed  by  imagination  lib- 
erated from  the  thralldom  of  facts.  Know  the 
particular  boy;  he  is  the  teacher's  hardest  lesson, 
not  to  be  learned  without  much  painstaking  labor. 
But  it  is  labor  that  will  pay  a  thousandfold,  in  the 
joy  of  discovering  a  life  in  its  processes,  in  really 
finding  a  person  and  in  gaining  a  sure  hand  in  the 
work  of  growing  such  a  person  toward  the  Christ 
ideal. 

An  analysis  of  this  character  fails  if  it  does  not 
lead  to  a  closer  personal  knowledge  of  the  pupil 
and  of  the  conditions  under  which  he  lives.  If  you 
have  the  cold  facts  go  and  see  them  where  they 
glow  with  life  and  reality.  Combine  the  com- 
munity study  and  the  personal  study  in  an  en- 
deavor to  know  the  conditions  under  which  boys 
and  girls  actually  live.  Try  to  determine  whether, 
and  why,  conditions  are  favorable  or  unfavor- 
able to  the  purposes  of  the  school.  See  the  human 
being  in  all  his  growth  environment  and  the  teach- 
er will  find  himself  teaching  in  a  new  way  because 
he  is  teaching  actual  people  in  the  light  of  their 
actual  lives. 

The  third  area  of  actual  knowledge  includes  the 
work  of  a  class.  It  is  an  easy  matter  to  take  a 
class,  another  matter  to  teach  one.  How  may  one 
know  whether  he  is  teaching?  How  know  whether 
the  things  that  ought  to  take  place  in  the  class 
are  happening?    How  know  whether  the  process 

69 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

of  teaching  is  achieving  the  purpose  of  teaching? 
Since  the  real  purpose  is  a  remote  one,  not  im- 
mediately realized,  the  most  he  can  jmow  is 
whether  the  steps  being  taken  are  those  that  lead 
to  the  desired  end.  He  who  grows  apples  can 
never  fully  know  his  results  until  the  fruit  is 
picked,  but  he  can  know  all  along  whether  every 
condition  is  right,  whether  his  processes  are  lead- 
ing to  the  perfect  fruit.  This  knowledge  is  not 
vague  or  general  to  him;  it  is  part  of  an  exact 
order  of  things. 

in.    KlTOWmG  THE  LESSON  PROCESS 

Here  is  a  teacher  and  a  class ;  a  lesson  is  being 
taught;  precisely  what  is  happening?  Until  the 
teacher  can  answer  that  for  himself  he  cannot  be 
sure  of  what  he  is  doing.  The  only  way  to  an- 
swer with  certainty  is  to  study  in  careful  detail 
just  what  takes  place  in  every  teaching  period.  A 
systematic  analysis  of  the  experience  of  every 
teaching  period,  a  classification  and  study  of  the 
facts  will  secure  certain  desirable  results.  It 
will  (1)  increase  consciousness  that  something 
very  real  is  taking  place,  (2)  discover  characteris- 
tic relationships  between  certain  conditions  in  the 
class  and  certain  attitudes  or  responses  in  pupils, 
(3)  discover  similar  relationships  between  certain 
presentations  of  the  lesson  and  responses  on  the 
part  of  pupils,  (4)  furnish  a  basis  for  discrimina- 
tion amongst  methods,  (5)  gradually  substitute 
certainty  of  action  in  teaching  for  blind  hit-and- 
miss,   (6)   simplify  habits  of  teaching,   (7)  con- 

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SCIENTIFIC  BASIS  OF  THE  NEW  SCHOOL 

tribute  toward  definite  knowledge  of  the  laws  of 
teaching  and  of  the  life-growth  of  the  pupil. 

There  are  a  number  of  items  to  be  observed  in 
order  to  secure  a  real  basis  of  fact  in  the  teaching 
process.  Not  all  will  be  found  in  every  lesson  ex- 
perience. Some  may  be  noted  by  means  of  checks 
made  against  certain  written  items  in  a  note-book 
at  the  time  of  teaching;  some  may  be  noted  be- 
fore actual  teaching  begins,  and  others  must  be 
set  down  in  a  retrospect  of  the  period. 

The  first  group  of  facts  are  relatively  simple 
and  rather  like  those  gathered  up  in  the  study 
of  the  community  and  of  the  pupiPs  life.  Yet  they 
are  exceedingly  important.  They  relate  to  the 
conditions  under  which  teaching  is  being  done. 
In  order  to  understand  what  takes  place  in  teach- 
ing we  must  be  able  to  see  the  whole  process,  all 
the  factors  involved,  including  the  conditions  of 
work.  We  must  see  all  that  enters  into  the  process. 
The  total  result  of  a  teaching  period  for  a  boy 
may  hold  more  of  what  he  has  seen  across  the 
room  than  of  what  has  seeped  into  his  ears. 

I.  An  Observation  of  Conditions:  First,  the 
conditions  of  the  class  as  a  whole,  and,  under  this, 
first,  the  physical.  This  will  include :  temperature 
of  room,  ventilation,  lighting,  weather  conditions 
as  affecting  light,  humidity,  conditions  of  class 
assembling,  seating,  tables — as  to  suitability, 
room,  comfort,  light — or  desks,  posture  of  pupils, 
general  health  conditions. 

Next,  mental  and  social  conditions.  Under  this 
note  particularly  the  organization  of  the  routine 
of  class  arrangement,  whether  there  is  any  rou- 

71 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODEEN  CHURCH 

tine  as  to  seating,  passing  material,  getting  set- 
tled for  class  work.  Then  note  whether  the  class 
has  social  unity,  works  well  together;  then  note 
any  special  emotional  condition,  cause  of  excite- 
ment, general  feeling  or  interest. 

Following  this  comes  the  more  detailed  observa- 
tion of  individuals.  This  need  not  be  taken  in 
every  item  every  week.  But  be  sure  of  having  a 
record  of  the  physical  conditions,  at  class  period, 
of  each  one.  Note  the  general  condition:  ani- 
mated, vigorous,  depressed,  indifferent,  phleg- 
matic, calm.  Under  mental  condition  note  the 
general  intellectual  abilities,  responsiveness,  acu- 
men, diligence  of  each.  Note  any  special  forms 
of  response,  particularly?  the  unlooked-for  an- 
swer. 

II.  "An  Observation  of  Processes.  Coming 
now  to  the  actual  work  in  the  class,  bearing  in 
mind  the  many  differences  between  a  Sunday- 
school  class  and  others,  particularly  as  to  the 
purpose  of  teaching,  what  is  it  we  are  trying 
to  do?  We  must  have  some  clear  notion  on  this 
before  we  can  analyze  what  we  are  doing.  We  are 
trying  to  present  ideas  so  that  pupils  will  see 
them  clearly,  feel  about  them  rightly,  act  upon 
them  definitely.  Presenting  ideas  in  a  common 
medium  of  language — or  visual  medium — we  ex- 
pect these  ideas  to  be  seen  by  the  pupil  by  the  aid 
of  ideas  already  in  his  mind,  to  be  strengthened 
by  his  emotions,  to  be  clarified  and  illuminated  as 
we  study  them  further,  to  be  deepened  in  force 
and  meaning  by  repetition,  and  then  by  experience, 
and  to  pass  into  life,  to  become  conduct  and  mo- 

72 


SCIENTIFIC  BASIS  OF  THE  NEW  SCHOOL 

tive,  by  repeated  willing  into  acts  and  thus  into 
habits.  So  that  we  are  doing  more  than  telling 
facts;  we  are  getting  results  in  people.  Now  to 
observe  what  takes  place  in  seeking  to  get  these 
results. 

The  first  step  is  that  of  securing  attention.  Set 
down  in  your  analysis  of  the  lesson  experience  just 
the  nature  of  the  problem  of  getting  attention 
each  time.  What  method  did  you  use  I  What  was 
your  reason  for  it?  How  account  for  its  suc- 
cess or  failure?  Was  it  a  method  that  worked 
toward  your  ultimate  end?  Then  holding  atten- 
tion. When  did  it  begin  to  flag?  Why?  Were 
the  causes  external  to  class?  Remediable  in  con- 
ditions? How  was  attention  regained?  Did  it 
come  by  your  eif ort  alone,  or  through  some  forms 
of  class  cooperation? 

On  attention  an  interesting  question  for  the 
teacher  is  whether  the  method  used  was  that  of 
simple  primary  attention  (based  on  immediate 
need,  appetite  or  simple  interest  at  the  moment  on 
the  part  of  the  pupil)  or  secondary  attention  (ap- 
plication to  the  lesson  for  the  sake  of  some  other 
end).^ 

Lesson  Presentation,  Note  down  the  facts  of 
your  presentation  of  ideas,  of  the  lesson.  Was 
your  language  understood?  Did  you  secure  a 
natural  restatement  from  pupil?  What  mental 
pictures  did  you  create,  as  judged  by  responses? 
What  emotional  responses  ?    To  what  actual  habit 

*  Observation  work  of  this  character  presupposes  familiarity  with 
the  principles  of  interest  and  attention,  particularly  the  discussions 
by  Thorndike,  Bagley  and  Colvin;  see  the  Bibliography. 

73 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODEEN  CHUECH 

of  life,  to  wliat  possible  action  was  your  idea 
addressed,  what  could  one  do  about  it?  What 
concrete  situations,  or  possibilities  of  action 
seemed  to  be  in  the  pupil's  mind,  as  evidenced  by 
his  response?  Did  he  narrate  any  incident  show- 
ing the  presented  idea  had  reality?  What  mo- 
tives were  addressed  ?  What  motives  were  in  your 
own  mind  as  to  the  action  described  or  idea  pre- 
sented? Did  any  motives  appear  in  the  pupiPs 
response?  If  not,  how  did  you  know  what  mo- 
tives were  felt?  Note  particularly  steps  in  pupils' 
minds  as  you  tried  to  stimulate  them  to  form 
their  own  judgments,  to  state  some  general  prin- 
ciples or  to  work  the  lesson  into  a  unity  of  ideal. 
Put  down  their  responses.  How  did  any  express, 
after  your  teaching  the  lesson,  the  real  ^^ lesson." 
Of  course  one  does  not  expect  pupils  to  moralize, 
but  they  will  give  the  best  tests  of  teaching  in 
their  spontaneous  statements  of  the  lesson  as  a 
whole. 

Tests  of  Teachmg.  So  far  as  possible  analyze 
the  lesson  experience  as  to  the  relative  time  used 
by  yourself  and  by  pupils,  the  proportions  be- 
tween their  activity  and  yours.  Note  what  pupils 
desire  to  do  about  it,  both  in  class  and  after, 
whether  you  succeed  in  stimulating  to  action.  Note 
whether  the  ideas  taught  have  reality,  so  that  they 
are  applied  to  men  and  things  today.  In  your 
analysis  show  not  only  whether  this  is  so,  but 
how. 

Tests  in  Life,  Keep  a  record  of  the  work  of  the 
class  with  each  pupil.  In  the  class:  demeanor, 
social  habits  toward  others  and  toward  class  as 

74 


SCIENTIFIC  BASIS  OF  THE  NEW  SCHOOL 

a  group,  accuracy  of  thought,  of  statement,  mem- 
ory, expression  of  ideas,  tendency  to  act,  tendency 
to  lead  or  to  foUow.  Note  the  lesson  going  over 
into  his  wider  life:  development  of  habits,  espe- 
cially of  service,  altruism;;  daily  habits  as  in 
school,  family;  does  the  religious  teaching  any- 
where carry  into  everyday  life!  Test  teaching 
by  affording  opportunity  to  do  things,  inviting  to 
service,  revealing  opportunities,  giving  chance  to 
**take  a  stand''  on  issues. 

From  time  to  time  one  may  well  review  his 
teaching  as  to  its  results.  In  teaching  geography 
one  expects  not  only  a  body  of  knowledge  of 
islands  and  seas  retained  in  the  pupiPs  mind,  but 
it  is  right  to  expect  the  geographic  mind;  so  in 
teaching  religion  the  real  thing  to  look  for  is  the 
religious  mind,  the  attitude  toward  life.  If  one 
can  get  this,  all  the  time  and  trouble  is  worth 
while  and  never  a  whit  of  it  wasted  to  secure  that 
end. 

Does  all  this  observation  and  note-taking  seem 
a  lot  of  weary  detail?  It  would  be  too  much  if  it 
were  the  task  of  a  week  or  a  month.  We  have 
been  outlining  a  method  and  an  ideal,  not  a  day's 
work.  The  main  point  is  to  make  up  our  minds 
that  in  the  realm  of  truth  and  in  its  work  we  can 
never  afford  to  attempt  to  take  steps  until  we 
have  our  feet  on  facts.  We  do  walk  by  faith,  but 
that  is  the  inner  propulsion  and  the  outer  com- 
pelling vision;  under  our  feet  we  must  have  the 
solid  ground  of  facts.  The  great  need  in  methods 
in  religious  education  today  is  the  real  facts  of  our 
work.    Every  teacher  who  will  take  time  to  gather, 

75 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHUECH 

study  and  record  the  facts  will  not  only  greatly 
strengthen  his  o^vn  work  and  lend  to  its  definite- 
ness  and  certainty,  but  will  also  greatly  aid  all 
other  workers  in  discovering  the  science  of  teach- 
ing religion. 

KNOWING  THE  EDUCATIVE  PKOCESS 

Of  course  this  does  not  come  last  in  importance ; 
it  is  fundamental,  but  the  full  recognition  of  one 's 
need  in  this  respect  does  grow  out  of  attempts 
to  follow  the  pupil  in  his  life  and  to  follow  him  as 
he  learns.  Then  the  religious  educator  begins  to 
ask,  what  is  happening  in  this  person,  and  how 
may  that  which  takes  place  be  directed,  stimulated 
and  controlled  so  as  to  develop  the  abilities  and 
characteristics  that  are  desirable?  Then  is  the 
time  for  a  study  of  the  educative  process.  A 
good  way  to  begin  would  be  to  take,  first,  Colvin 
and  Bagley's  ''Human  Behaviour''  and  to  fol- 
low this  with  Coe's  ''Social  Theory  of  Religious 
Education."  The  point  of  view  is  not  the  same 
in  the  two  books,  but  they  serve  to  balance  one 
another.  If  the  teachers  of  a  school  study  these 
two  books  there  will  be  no  further  question  as  to 
their  recognition  of  a  scientific  basis  for  their 
work,  they  will  have  taken  the  first  great  step  to- 
ward professional  ability. 


76 


CHAPTER  VI 
EDUCATIONAL  DIRECTION 

The  educational  emphasis  distinguishes  the  lead- 
ership of  the  new  school.  Because  it  is  an  edu- 
cational institution  it  requires  direction  by  per- 
sons familiar  with  educational  methods.  One  of 
the  facts  we  often  seem  to  forget  in  American  life 
is  that  it  takes  more  than  either  enthusiasm  or  ap-' 
petite  for  office  to  make  an  expert.  In  politics 
we  apparently  assume  that  running  for  office 
equips  one  with  administrative  ability.  And  we 
have  long  assumed  in  the  church  that  willingness 
to  carry  the  honors  of  office-holding  was  the  only 
qualification  necessary  for  a  life-long  position. 
Men  were  elected  superintendents  of  Sunday 
schools  because  they  wanted  the  job,  and  they  were 
re-elected  for  many  years  after  they  had  thorough- 
ly demonstrated  their  inefficiency  because  the 
church  feared  ^'to  hurt  their  feelings.^'  That 
was  possible  only  so  long  as  the  school  and  its 
interests  could  be  regarded  as  less  than  the  in- 
terests of  individuals. 

But  when  the  school  is  seen  to  be  seriously  en- 
gaged in  the  most  important  task  of  the  church, 
then  the  church  must  treat  with  seriousness  the 
selection  of  its  directing  staff.  The  consciousness 
of  a  new  task,  together  with  the  earnest  endeavor 
to  discharge  that  task,  has  won  for  the  school  its 

77 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

new  leadership,  selected  and  organized  for  the 
purposes  of  the  school.  It  is  now  the  custom,  in 
modem  churches,  to  furnish,  first,  general  edu- 
cational direction  by  means  of  an  elected  Church 
Board  of  Education.  This  Board  usually  consists 
of  from  ^Ye  to  seven  members  who  have  the  edu- 
cational qualifications  necessary  to  direct  a  school. 
They  may  be  professional  teachers,  school  prin- 
cipals, or  persons  who  have  studied  the  educa- 
tional problems  of  the  church.  The  Pastor  and 
the  superintendent  are  members  ex  officio  of  the 
Board. 

THE   CHUECH  BOARD 

The  Church  Board  is  the  general  supervisory 
body  responsible  for  all  educational  work  in  the 
church,  and  particularly  responsible  for  the  school. 
It  determines  the  type  of  organization,  super- 
vises the  course  of  study,  plans  for  the  training 
of  teachers,  correlates  other  activities  for  the 
young  to  the  work  of  the  school,  prepares  and 
becomes  responsible  for  the  budget  of  the  school, 
and  engages  any  employed  workers. 

The  work  of  the  Church  Board  of  Education  is 
usually  divided  into  sub-committees,  such  as  Offi- 
cers, Teachers,  Curriculum,  Gradation  and  Pro- 
motion, Recreational  work.  Budget,  Missionary 
activities,  Church  relations.  From  time  to  time, 
as  special  problems  arise,  the  Board  either  be- 
comes a  committee  or  it  appoints  special  conomit- 
tees  to  study  the  particular  problem.  For  in- 
stance, when  the  time  arrives  to  erect  a  special 
building  for  the  work  of  the  school,  the  responsi- 

78 


EDUCATIONAL  DIRECTION 

bility  for  selection  of  plans  should  fall  on  this 
committee.  The  Church-school  building  consti- 
tutes a  problem  in  education ;  its  design  should  be 
determined  by  considerations  with  which  this  com- 
mittee is  familiar. 

The  Board  serves  as  the  general  committee  co- 
ordinating all  the  educational  activities  of  the 
church.  Nowhere  can  that  board  be  of  greater 
usefulness  than  here.  Commonly  in  the  church 
there  are  about  twenty,  or  more,  different  organ- 
izations and  activities  for  boys  and  girls ;  each  one 
goes  its  own  way,  lines  cross  and  recross,  and 
energies  are  wasted  in  the  duplicated  efforts.  One 
boy  may  be  reached  by  a  dozen  activities,  another 
may  be  totally  neglected.  One  day  is  crowded 
with  activities,  another  is  empty.  The  present, 
chaotic  conflict  needs  the  authoritative  hand  of  a 
coordinating  body.  The  church  Board  must  de- 
termine what  societies  and  organizations  are 
necessary  and  what  ones  should  be  excluded — not 
because  they  are  evil,  but  because  they  only  cum- 
ber the  ground,  or  they  duplicate  work  already 
being  done.  It  must  assign  each  activity  or  so- 
ciety its  place  and  its  time.  It  must  prepare  pro- 
grams of  work  and  schedules  of  activities  that 
present  a  balanced,  fairly  continuous  series  or 
scheme,  each  part  filling  a  designed  place  in  the 
process  of  training  boys  and  girls. 

COMMUITITY    COOKDINATION' 

The  Board  must  look  beyond  its  own  church. 
It  is  only  one  of  a  number  of  Boards  working 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHUECH 

in  several  churches ;  all  are  working*  for  the  lives 
of  boys  and  girls.  They  must  cooperate.  We 
need  today  community  programs  of  a  religious 
education.  We  need,  first,  the  programs  that  are 
very  simple  and  easy  to  secure,  community  co- 
operation in  all  kinds  of  work  that  can  be  done 
unitedly  in  the  community,  such  as  the  training 
of  teachers,^  the  conduct  of  community  surveys, 
organizing  united  Christmas  entertainments, 
choruses,  picnics  and  relief  work.  In  no  way  are 
we  likely  to  hasten  church  unity  better  than  by 
practicing  community  cooperation  in  church  work. 
There  is  no  reason  on  earth  why  all  the  teachers 
of  a  neighborhood  should  not  receive  their  train- 
ing together.  If  the  churches  cannot  cooperate  to 
this  extent  there  are  some  sadly  misplaced  em- 
phases in  their  relig-ion.  If  their  faiths  keep  them 
separate  at  the  points  of  practical,  common  in- 
terests, then  they  are  not  the  faith  of  Him  who 
prayed  that  they  might  be  all  one.  Church  Boards 
do  well  to  remember  that  everything  that  brings 
the  forces  of  religion  into  cooperation  not  only 
greatly  strengthens  the  force  of  their  appeal  to 
the  young  but  it  presents  a  definite  picture,  more 
forcible  than  words,  of  Christian  love  in  opera- 
tion. 

But  the  modem  Church  Boards  of  a  community 
will  look  beyond  the  details  of  coordinated  activi- 
ties in  religious  instruction ;  they  will  unite  for  the 
supervision  of  community  life  in  terms  of  religious 
education.    Knowing  that  their  program  of  train- 

*See  *'The  City  Institute/'  by  Prof.  W.  S.  Athearn.  (Univer- 
sity  of  Chicago  Press.) 

80 


EDUCATIOXAL  DIEECTION 

ing  lives  in  righteousness  cannot  be  acMeved  in 
the  brief  term  of  the  Sunday  school  alone,  that 
if  boys  and  girls  are  to  grow  up  members  of  a 
religious  society,  then  society  must  give  them 
continuously  religious  training,  these  Boards  will 
unite  to  make  the  whole  life  of  the  community 
count  for  righteousness.  The  united  church 
boards  of  any  neighborhood  could  clean  up  all 
its  plague  spots,  tear  down  its  debauching  bill- 
boards and  provide  recreational  facilities  for  all 
its  boys  and  girls. 

The  Church  Board  that  seriously  undertakes  the 
direction  of  the  educ-ational  work  of  a  church  soon 
finds  its  need  of  expert  direction.  Now  churches 
are  employing  professional  educators  to  carry  out 
the  work  of  the  Boards.  There  are  employed  in 
the  United  States  and  Canada,  at  the  time  of 
writing,  over  two  hundred  trained  men  and 
women  as  ^^ Directors  of  Religious  Education.'' 
They  differ  from  the  so-called  ^'paid  Superin- 
tendents^' in  that  their  work  includes  all  the  edu- 
cational task  of  the  church.  They  dift'er  also  in 
that  they  have  been  especially  trained  for  this 
vocation.  They  have  had  a  professional  train- 
ing with  dual  emphases,  in  religion  and  in  edu- 
cation. 

THE  CHUECH  DULECTOR 

There  are  two  principal  types  of  the  director's 
work.  One  is  that  in  a  single  church.  Here  the 
director  is  the  executive  officer  of  the  church  board 
of  religious  education.  He  carries  out  their  plans 
of  coordination.    The  school  and  all  classes  and 

81 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODEEN  CHURCH 

forms  of  activity  which  deal  with  the  people  in 
any  educational  manner  come  under  his  care.  This 
embraces  more  than  classes  for  instruction.  With 
the  young  it  will  include  their  recreational  life, 
though  often,  in  larger  churches,  a  special  recrea- 
tional leader  will  be  engaged  in  charge  of  the 
g^nnnasium  and  the  play  activities.  But  this  offi- 
cer will  be  under  the  supervision  of  the  director; 
his  work  is  conceived  in  educational  terms  and  is 
fitted  into  the  complete  scheme  of  religious  train- 
ing. 

The  director  is  the  supervisor  of  all  instruction. 
He  not  only  has  in  hand  the  matters  of  curriculum, 
organization,  gradation,  promotion,  supplies  and 
finances;  he  also  directly  watches  the  teaching. 
He  knows  what  work  is  being  done  in  classes.  He 
is  able  to  advise  with  teachers,  on  the  basis  of 
his  observation ;  he  can  change  teachers,  adapting 
them  to  classes  or  retiring  them  if  they  are  ineffi- 
cient. In  a  word,  it  is  his  task  to  organize  and 
conduct,  under  the  board,  a  unified,  comprehen- 
sive program  of  religious  training  by  educational 
means.  It  is  important  to  state  that,  while  the 
phrase  of  the  masculine  gender  is  used  here,  many 
directors,  some  of  them  highly  efficient,  are 
women. 

The  director  is  not  an  assistant  pastor  in  the 
ordinary  sense,  still  less  is  he  the  pastor's  clerk 
or  errand  boy.  Churches  engaging  directors 
should  hold  his  educational  specialty  clearly  in 
mind.  In  not  a  few  instances  his  work  has  been 
a  failure  simply  because  the  pastor  has  regarded 
him  as  the  additional  member  of  the  staff  on  whom 

82 


EDUCATIONAL  DIRECTION 

might  be  unloaded  aU  the  drudgery,  the  minor  de- 
tails of  pastoral  work.  The  assistant-pastor- 
director  plan  will  not  work.  This  is  the  day  of 
specialization;  the  pastor  is  a  specialist  in  his  field 
and  should  not  dishonor  it  by  expecting  that  one 
trained  in  another  field  can  lightly  step  in  and  do 
his  particular  work.  The  director  is  a  specialist 
and  the  advantages  of  his  special  training  should 
be  conserved  for  his  own  field,  a  difficult  and  suffi- 
ciently important  one,  calling  for  all  his  powers. 
Some  of  the  most  successful  work  by  directors 
is  being  done  in  relatively  small  places  as,  for 
instance,  at  "Winnetka,  Illinois,  where  a  complete 
program  is  provided  for  all  the  boys  and  girls  of 
the  community  in  the  church  which  employs  a  di- 
rector. Here  the  young  people  are  busy  in  games, 
classes  and  social  gatherings  for  as  many  hours 
as  they  may  desire  to  spend  every  day  in  periods 
outside  the  regular  public  school  work.  In  addi- 
tion there  are  classes  for  all  the  different  groups 
of  adults,  directed  social  activities  and  forms  of 
educational  stimulus  according  to  their  needs. 

THE  COMMUNITY  DIBECTOB 

The  other  type  of  director  is  the  one  engaged  in 
work  for  the  schools,  or  churches,  of  a  community 
or  a  neighborhood,  and,  occasionally,  for  the 
churches  of  a  particular  communion  in  a  larger 
district,  as  a  city  or  a  county.  The  work  of  the 
community  director  is  relatively  new.  It  has  been 
tried  in  but  a  few  places.  Yet  it  needs  but  a 
little  reflection  to  realize  that  this  is  not  only  a 

83 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODEEN  CHURCH 

simple  solution  for  those  churches  which  are  too 
small,  or  too  limited  in  resources  to  employ  the  en- 
tire services  of  a  man  or  a  woman,  but  it  is  more, 
it  is  the  simple  application  of  the  plan  of  super- 
vision employed  in  general  education  where  a 
superintendent  directs  a  number  of  schools.  The 
work  differs  somewhat  from  that  of  the  local  di- 
rector, as  the  work  of  a  principal  in  a  school  dif- 
fers from  that  of  a  superintendent.  The  com- 
munity director  is  less  of  an  executive  and  more 
of  a  supervisor.  His  duties  will  include  the  train- 
ing and  guidance  of  the  leaders  in  each  church, 
the  direction  of  the  plans  of  organization  in  each 
church  and  the  coordination  of  the  plans  of  all  the 
churches  under  his  care  into  community  unity. 
He  can  have  a  very  important  function  in  the  life 
of  his  village  or  city.  In  time  he  can  bring  it  to 
a  sense  of  united  purpose  in  making  its  entire  life 
count  for  the  well-being  of  all  its  boys  and  girls. 
He  has  an  especial  opportunity  in  rural  com- 
munities. Nowhere  is  his  work  more  seriously 
needed  or  likely  to  bring  larger  results.  Its  op- 
portunities are  rich  and  immediate.  The  country- 
side especially  needs  a  wise,  sympathetic  man  or 
woman  to  bring  its  youth  life  together  to  organize 
their  scattered  energies,  to  give  them  a  sense  of 
unity  as  they  play  together,  organize  choral  so- 
cieties, entertainments,  clubs  and  recreational 
activities.  Scarcely  any  of  the  privileges  of  city 
and  village  life  need  be  denied  the  countryside  if 
only  there  is  the  right  kind  of  personal  leadership 
to  secure  united  action.  And  if  this  is  true  in 
these  more  general  interests  the  advantages  would 

84 


EDUCATIONAL  DIRECTION 

not  be  less  in  the  immediate  work  of  the  church 
schools.  The  benefits  of  expert  training,  of  super- 
vision and  of  united  action  are  all  possible  here 
under  the  right  kind  of  prepared  leadership. 

The  emphasis  of  the  director's  work  is  on  the 
religious  educational  side.  He  may  direct  play, 
but  it  is  with  the  purpose  of  developing  religious 
character;  he  may  superintend  moving  picture 
presentations,  but  the  aim  is  the  same.  He  is  an 
educator,  a  specialist  in  the  church,  interpreting 
and  guiding  all  activities  under  the  educational 
method  and  ideal,  and  toward  the  religious  ideal 
of  boys  and  girls  learning  the  life  of  a  religious 
society. 

The  Association  of  Directors  of  Religious  Edu- 
cation— a  section  of  The  Religious  Education  As- 
sociation— is  the  professional  organization  of  this 
group.  The  conditions  of  membership  in  this  sec- 
tion indicate  the  professional  requirements;  they 
are  as  follows: 

^^  Membership.  The  membership  of  the  Asso- 
ciation of  Directors  shall  be  of  two  kinds :  Active 
and  Associate. 

^^1.  Active  Members.  All  who  have  had  a  four 
years'  college  course,  or  its  equivalent,  and  have 
also  had  a  full  three  years'  theological  course  in 
a  seminary,  with  courses  in  religious  education, 
or  who  have  had  in  addition  to  the  college  course 
two  years  of  study  in  an  approved  School  of  Re- 
ligious Pedagogy,  shall  be  eligible  to  Active  Mem- 
bership in  this  Association.  Only  Active  Mem- 
bers shall  be  entitled  to  vote  or  to  hold  office. 

''2.     Associate  Members.    All  who,  though  not 

85 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

having  had  a  college  education,  have  had  a  high 
school  training  and  two  years  of  post-graduate 
work  in  an  approved  School  of  Religious  Peda- 
gogy, or  its  equivalent,  shall  be  eligible  to  Asso- 
ciation Membership,  with  the  privilege  of  partici- 
pation in  the  discussions  of  the  Association,  but 
not  of  voting. 

^^In  all  cases,  however,  eligibility  to  member- 
ship, both  Active  and  Associate,  shall  depend 
upon  the  giving  of  one's  entire  time  as  an  em- 
ployed worker  in  the  cause  of  Religious  Educa- 
tion, either  as  a  Director  of  Religious  Education 
in  a  local  church  or  school  or  as  Educational  Sec- 
retary of  a  denomination. ' ' 

There  are  several  institutions  offering  the 
necessary  professional  training  for  directors  of 
religious  education.^ 

The  training  schools  are  also  offering  courses 
in  religious  education  for  those  who  would  come 
into  the  '^Associate  membership '^  in  the  organ- 
ization mentioned  above.  These  courses  cor- 
respond, in  general,  to  the  normal  training  work 
in  the  different  state  institutions  preparing  teach- 
ers for  the  grade  schools.  They  are  designed  to 
give  to  pastor's  assistants,  parish  workers  and 
other  lay  workers  in  churches  familiarity  with  the 

^  Notably  Yale,  Chicago,  Boston,  Union  Theological  Seminary, 
New  York,  and  Hartford,  many  other  seminaries — too  many  to 
mention  in  detail — have  chairs  of  Eeligious  Education  and  are 
not  only  giving  courses  for  ministers  but  are  also  offering  special 
training  for  Directors.  A  fairly  complete  list  of  training  agencies, 
together  with  a  careful  study  of  professional  courses  and  facilities 
in  this  field,  is  given  in  ''Religious  Education"  for  February, 
1915. 

86 


EDUCATIONAL  DIRECTION 

general  principles  of  religious  education,  with  the 
organization  and  pedagogy  of  the  Sunday  school 
and  with  methods  of  work  with  children  and 
youth.  Such  courses  are  to  be  found  in  nearly 
all  the  denominational  schools  and  in  the  training 
colleges  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  and  the  Y.  W.  C.  A. 

This  new  profession  offers  decided  attractions 
to  young  men  and  women.  It  is  a  chance  to  en- 
gage directly  in  forms  of  religious  work  which 
are  based  upon  modern  ideals  and  scientific 
methods.  It  gives  promise  of  contributing  to  the 
greatly  enlarged  usefulness  of  the  churches  and  of 
solving  some  of  their  most  serious  problems.  The 
work,  since  it  deals  principally  with  young  lives, 
offers  a  field  of  the  richest  promise.  Directors 
have  an  opportunity  not  alone  to  improve  the 
Sunday  schools,  but  to  bring  together  in  one 
organization  all  the  youth  life  of  the  community 
in  the  church. 

The  rise  of  the  directorship  of  religious  educa- 
tion is  a  striking  indication  of  the  new  earnestness 
and  seriousness  of  educational  purpose  that  has 
come  into  the  modem  Sunday  school,  or,  more 
exactly,  into  the  program  of  the  churches  for  the 
education  of  the  young.  The  modern  church  ac- 
cepts its  responsibility  for  religious  instruction 
and  with  graded  classes  and  curriculum,  trained 
teachers  and  special  buildings  it  is  seeking  to 
place  its  work  on  a  level  of  efficiency  with  the 
public  schools. 


87 


CHAPTER  YII 

THE  NEW  PROGRAM  OF  TEACHING 

The  fire  of  criticism  against  the  old  type  of  school 
was  directed  principally  at  the  teaching;  the  re- 
forms which  came  in  time  concentrated  at  the 
same  point,  dividing  into  two  emphases,  the 
method  of  teaching  and  the  content  or  curriculum. 
Improvements  under  both  aspects  are  still  going 
forward.  No  one  is  satisfied  today,  although  a 
few  years  ago,  when  the  completely  graded  sys- 
tem of  lessons  was  inaugurated,  a  large  majority 
of  workers  declared  that  its  completion  would 
satisfy  all  the  requirements  of  the  schools  for 
many  years. 

CHANGING  LESSONS 

The  new  school  has  seen  a  new  vision;  it  has 
come  into  its  responsibility  for  lives  and  for  so- 
ciety. Formerly  the  principal  responsibility  which 
it  felt  was  for  the  Bible.  The  improvements  it 
labored  to  effect  were  in  the  reorganization  of 
lesson  materials  from  the  Bible.  Some  of  the 
most  elaborate  of  the  curricula  which  were  pre- 
pared in  answer  to  the  demand  for  graded  lessons 
were  simply  skilful  arrangements  of  biblical  ma- 
terials according  to  the  child's  developing  inter- 
ests and  capacities.    Now  the  school,  in  view  of  its 

88 


THE  NEW  PKOGRAM  OF  TEACHING 

task  of  training  lives,  demands  courses  of  lessons 
whicli  have  been  arranged  in  view  of  the  needs  of 
persons,  of  the  needs  of  those  who  are  being 
trained  to  efficiency  in  the  life  of  a  spiritual  so- 
ciety. It  is  no  longer  content  with  producing  a 
boy  or  a  girl  who  can  pass  any  sort  of  intellectual 
tests  regarding  the  history  and  literature  in  the 
Bible ;  it  seeks  to  develop  boys  and  girls  who  can 
pass  the  tests  that  the  school,  the  street,  business, 
social  relations  and  daily  work  put  on  them,  who 
can  come  through  such  tests  clean,  strong  and  in 
love  with  their  fellow  men. 

These  are  the  reasons  that  Sunday-school  les- 
sons are  today  constantly  in  process  of  re-making. 
And  the  fact  that  these  courses  have  a  purpose 
so  vital  and  practical  as  the  training  of  lives 
means  that  they  will  always  be  in  the  making,  for 
the  demands  which  society  makes  on  lives  and 
the  demands  made  by  changing  conditions  will 
always  be  developing. 

A  CHANGED  PURPOSE  IN  TEACHING 

The  changes  that  are  taking  place  in  the  courses 
of  lessons  are  highly  important,  and  they  are 
likely  to  be  most  helpful;  but  there  is  something 
more  important  than  these  changes,  and  that  is  the 
change  in  the  purposes  of  the  teachers.  Here  lies 
the  very  root  of  the  efficiency  of  the  modern  school 
for  its  enlarged  task.  In  every  class,  in  every 
lesson  the  purpose  looks  toward  life  and  society. 
The  Bible  is  used  as  a  means ;  it  is  the  tool  in  the 
teacher's  hands;  it  is  the  stimulus  which  acts  on 

89 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

the  mind  and  will  of  the  pupil.  The  teacher  does 
not  teach  the  Bible ;  he  teaches  persons.  He  does 
not  teach  about  the  Bible;  he  teaches  life  by 
means  of  the  book  which,  above  all  other  litera- 
ture, steadily  takes  life  in  religious  terms.  The 
new  school  is  recovering  from  bibliolatry.  There 
was  a  time  when  it  seemed  that  many  Christian 
people  showed  more  reverence  to  the  Bible  than 
they  did  to  God ;  they  worked  harder  to  defend  the 
book  than  they  did  to  do  the  will  of  God;  they 
resented  much  more  bitterly  aught  that  seemed  to 
slight  the  Bible  than  they  resisted  all  that  op- 
posed the  will  of  God. 

Today  the  teacher  approaches  the  class  con- 
cerned, not  so  much  with  whether  all  the  facts  of 
biblical  archeology,  geography,  history  and 
exegesis  are  in  mind,  but  concerned  with  the  task 
of  aiding  people  in  the  problems  of  their  lives. 
The  wise  teacher  thinks  more  about  how  people 
have  to  live  today  and  how  they  might  live  to- 
getJier  in  doing  the  will  of  God  than  about  how  a 
certain  people  lived  three  thousand  years  ago. 
The  teacher  who  would  really  teach  thinks  prin- 
cipally on  the  problems  of  living  people.  The  his- 
torical setting  of  a  chapter  in  Kings  may  be  high- 
ly interesting,  so  far  as  it  can  be  determined, 
but  the  teacher  is  not  dealing  with  lives  set  in 
that  day.  He  deals  with  people  who  are  most 
definitely  in  the  setting  of  this  vital  period  of 
time,  the  present.  And  no  one  can  teach  these 
people  who  does  not  understand  their  lives  and 
their  circumstances. 

Some  have  said  that  the  modem  lesson  courses 
90 


THE  NEW  PEOGEAM  OF  TEACHING 

drive  out  the  Bible  and  substitute  sociology  and 
philanthrophy.  We  might  as  well  face  this  accu- 
sation. If  it  means  that  we  must  choose  between 
applying  to  the  life  of  today  the  sociology  of 
Deuteronomy  or  of  Judges  and  the  sociology  of 
our  day,  we  can  hardly  hesitate  in  our  choice.  If 
it  means  that  we  must  choose  between  teaching 
people  ancient  history  and  teaching  them  modern 
religious  duty  and  ideals,  here  also  we  cannot 
hesitate.  If  it  means  that  we  must  concentrate 
on  the  spiritual  problems  of  a  people  of  long  ago 
and  ignore  the  real  spiritual  issues  of  today,  which 
are  in  our  social  relations,  in  our  current  human 
affairs,  then  all  we  can  do  is  to  take  up  the  life 
we  have  given  to  us,  do  our  present  duty  and  let 
the  dead  bury  their  dead.  Truly  the  modern  les- 
sons are  disturbing  the  ancient  peace  of  some  in 
Zion.  If  we  teach  social  duty,  the  duty  that  deals 
with  taxes,  wages,  houses,  working  conditions, 
every-day  affairs  in  streets,  factories,  stores  and 
homes,  some  forms  of  business  will  be  required 
to  make  new  adjustments,  to  think  of  workers  and 
consumers — and  that  would  never  do  1 

But  the  issue  is  somewhat  different.  It  is  not  a 
question  of  giving  up  the  Bible.  It  is  a  matter 
of  setting  first  all  the  time  the  great  purpose  of 
the  school  and  using  for  that  purpose  whatever 
will  most  effectively  aid  in  accomplishing  its  ends. 
To  the  degree,  and  it  is  a  very  large  degree,  that 
the  Bible  will  aid  in  bringing  on  the  active  stage 
of  life  a  generation  who  will  live  by  spiritual 
ideals,  who  will  actually  put  Christian  brother- 
hood into  practice,  who  will  make  this  world  the 

91 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODEEN  CHUECH 

place  where  the  will  of  the  God  of  love  is  done, 
then  to  that  extent  the  Bible  will  be  used.  To 
the  extent  that  social  studies,  discussions  of  the 
actual  conditions,  and  of  the  practical  ideals  of  a 
righteous  society  will  help,  we  will  use  this  form 
of  material.  It  will  not  be  a  choice  between  bibli- 
cal and  extra-biblical  material ;  it  will  be  the  frank 
acceptance  of  a  new  standard  by  which  any  ma- 
terial of  study  is  adopted,  that  standard  being 
the  purpose  of  leading  lives  to  ability  to  live  in 
and  produce  a  Christian  order. 

GRADED  SOCIAL  INSTRX^CTIOU 

A  program  of  this  character  begins  with  the 
lowest  grades  in  the  school.  Social  problems  are 
not  peculiar  to  either  youth  or  maturity;  they 
exist  as  soon  as  lives  are  brought  together  any- 
where. The  relations  between  little  children  in 
their  groups,  the  relations  of  the  members  of  a 
family  are  simple  forms  of  social  problems.  This 
Christian  type  of  life  is  to  be  lived  by  the  little 
child  in  the  family,  amongst  playmates  and  school- 
mates. But  that  does  not  mean  that  the  course 
for  the  primary  is  called  ^'The  Social  Problems 
of  Little  Children."  It  means  that  the  teacher 
deals  with  the  real,  present  facts  of  the  lives  of 
little  children.  By  means  of  the  ideals  that  lead 
conduct  they  are  taught  the  right  life  in  the 
family,  the  life  of  the  children  of  the  family  of 
God  in  all  relations.  Such  courses  are  now  ar- 
ranged and  in  use  in  many  schools. 

All  through  the  grades  teaching  is  adapted,  not 

92 


THE  NEW  PEOGRAM  OF  TEACHINa 

only  to  the  development  of  interests  and  in- 
tellectual abilities,  but  to  the  facts  of  the  life- 
experiences  of  those  who  learn.  Imagine  the  dif- 
ference it  makes  to  a  boy  when  the  lessons  of  the 
school  actually  deal  with  his  real  life !  Think  of 
the  boys  and  girls  of  from  fifteen  to  eighteen  at 
different  times  discussing  in  the  class  such  sub- 
jects as  the  choice  of  occupation,  recreations, 
cheating  in  school,  honesty  in  business,  what  does 
one  owe  to  his  office  or  employer?  Take  that  first 
topic,  would  there  be  any  sleepy  heads  in  a  group 
of  boys  who  were  being  led  to  think  of  the  different 
occupations  and  professions,  to  discuss  their 
forms  of  human  service  and  to  see  the  ways  of 
preparing  for  them?  Or  supposing  we  have  the 
vision  to  see  the  real  place  of  play  in  a  boy's  life 
and  the  courage  to  discuss  the  ball  game,  or  any 
game,  would  the  class  be  voted  a  ''dead  one''  if 
it  were  taught  by  a  man  who  knew  the  game  ?  But, 
you  object,  would  not  the  subject  run  away  with 
the  boys  or  the  boys  with  the  subject?  Certain- 
ly, and,  if  the  subject  is,  not  the  baseball  ''dope" 
in  the  newspapers,  but  the  game  itself,  the  game 
as  a  real  experience  in  life,  is  not  that  just  what 
you  want?  Is  it  not  the  teacher's  splendid  chance 
to  show,  without  labels,  the  art  of  living  the  life 
of  a  religious  person  on  "the  diamond?" 

Perhaps  this  sort  of  teaching  needs  a  further 
word;  it  sounds  so  revolutionary  to  many  to  talk 
of  teaching  about  base-ball  in  a  Sunday  school. 
We  must  hold  ourselves  to  a  few  facts.  Base- 
ball, and  the  round  of  games,  is  a  part  of  the  boy's 
experience  of  life ;  it  is  as  much  life  to  him  as  the 

93 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

factory  or  office  to  the  man.  It  is  the  active  life 
in  which  he  forms  the  habits  of  aU  living.  Its 
problems,  its  ethical  and  social  questions  are  the 
big  questions  to  him.  They  are  his  social-prob- 
lem realities.  In  the  game  his  conscience  will  be 
tried,  his  will  tested,  his  ideals  strained.  If  the 
school  cannot  help  him  in  the  experience  that  is 
so  real,  so  vital  and  so  potent  for  his  life,  how  can 
it  help  him  to  live  as  a  religious  person? 

Baseball  is  cited  as  a  sufficiently  outstanding 
example  of  the  principle  that  the  school  must  deal 
with  the  realities  of  life.  In  so  doing  it  is  in  con- 
formity to  the  practice  in  general  education.  More 
and  more  the  child's  lessons  pass  over  from  the 
remote  to  the  near,  from  the  theoretical  to  the 
actual.  Even  in  the  formal  subjects  he  deals  with 
the  realities  of  his  own  experience.  He  begins 
geography  with  his  own  back-yard  and  his  own 
neighborhood ;  he  learns  square  root  by  measuring 
the  rug  or  carpet  or  wall-paper  at  home.  He  ap- 
plies all  he  learns  to  realities.  The  child  now 
takes  domestic  science  with  an  apron  on  and  his 
mathematics  he  acquires  very  largely  with  a 
square  and  a  saw  in  hand  in  the  carpenter 's  shop. 
The  school  prepares  for  life  by  real  experiences 
in  life. 

When  we  come  to  adults,  what  a  refreshing 
change  this  new  point-of-view  effects !  The  adult 
class  that  used  either  to  listen  to  a  sermon  by 
the  popular  talker,  called  a  teacher,  or  to  spend 
its  hour  in  heated  discussion  over  doctrinal  sub- 
tleties now  takes  a  look  at  the  world  in  which  it 
lives  through  the  eyes  of  prophets  of  righteous- 

94 


THE  NEW  PEOGEAM  OF  TEACHINa   ' 

ness  and  through  the  eyes  of  the  Son  of  Man. 
It  studies  the  city  right  at  hand,  its  problems  and 
its  needs.  It  studies  the  grave  questions  of  a 
world  that  is  finding  itself  and  working  out  new 
social  relations.  All  its  studies  so  deal  with  the 
realities  of  life  that  they  are  bound  to  be  inter- 
esting and  they  are  bound  to  lead  men  to  think  out  ^ 
the  present  social  order  in  terms  of  a  democracy  ** 
of  the  spirit.  The  subjects,  too,  are  such  that  they 
are  bound  to  lead  to  programs  of  action.  The 
class,  in  the  light  of  the  realities  of  life,  in  view 
of  the  degree  to  which  they  fall  short  of  the  ideals 
which  Jesus  presented,  and  for  which  we  pray, 
cannot  long  sit  contemplative  or  be  content  with 
discussion.  There  is  work  to  be  done  and  the 
class  turns  to  learn  how  to  do  that  work. 

The  practical  studies  lead  to  practice.  The 
school  reaches  out  into  the  realities  of  present- 
day  life.  And  so  the  phrase  ^ '  expressional  activi- 
ties''  comes  to  have  a  new  significance;  it  stands 
for  all  those  forms  of  activities  which  inevitably 
grow  out  of  reality  in  teaching,  for  the  living  of 
the  life  which  is  taught. 

TEACHING  AS  A  SOCIAL  ENTERPRISE 

A  still  more  significant  change  is  taking  place ; 
it  has  had  three  stages  of  development ;  the  class 
has  become  a  social  unit  working  together  in  a 
common  task,  or  enterprise;  the  teacher  has  be- 
come a  member  of  the  group ;  and  the  task  of  the 
group  has  moved  out  from  the  mastery  of  certain 
information  into  united  endeavors  to  accomplish 

95 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

certain  purposes.  Perhaps,  for  those  who  desire 
to  bring  about  the  modern  methods  of  class  work, 
the  order  should  be  reversed,  for  if  the  class  is 
guided  into  common  enterprises,  or  social  activi- 
ties, they  will  realize  their  unity  and  will  find 
themselves,  including  the  teacher,  simply  stand- 
ing, moving  and  working  together.  A  class  in  re- 
ligion is  no  longer  a  little  group,  either  volun- 
tarily or  under  a  compulsion  it  does  not  under- 
stand, meeting  periodically  to  study  certain  fixed 
lessons.  It  is  rather  a  group,  guided  by  the  pur- 
pose of  the  school  to  develop  in  persons  the 
abilities  of  the  religious  life,  and  immediately 
guided  by  its  own  desires  to  accomplish  certain 
purposes  belonging  to  that  life.  It  is  a  group  co- 
operating in  learning  through  experience  the 
abilities  of  the  religious  life. 

The  first  significance  of  this  change,  at  least 
the  one  most  evident,  is  the  new  place  of  the 
teacher.  Formerly,  here  on  one  side  was  one  who 
knew  and  could  tell ;  on  the  other  side  were  those 
who  were  receiving  knowledge.  Now  all  are  on 
one  side,  commonly  engaged  in  discovery.  True, 
the  teacher  will  know  much  the  others  do  not 
know — and  the  class  will  know  that  the  teacher 
knows — ^but  the  teacher  will  so  lead  and  so  share 
in  the  process  of  learning  that  he — or  she — ^will, 
with  the  class,  know  more  and  more  as  each  step 
is  taken.  The  members  of  the  class  will  feel  that 
the  teacher  is  working  with  them,  rather  than  on 
them,  in  a  common  endeavor  to  do  things  and  thus 
to  know  things. 

The  second  great  significance  lies  in  the  experi- 
96 


THE  NEW  PEOGEAM  OF  TEACHINa 

ence  every  member  of  the  class  has  in  working 
in  a  common  effort.  Class  purpose  takes  the  place 
of  individual  pride  and  personal  competitions; 
cooperation  supersedes  competition.  Our  former 
plans  had  some  passing  advantages  for  the  bright 
students  who  were  spurred  on  to  excel;  they  had 
decided  disadvantages  for  the  others  who  were 
discouraged.  They  had  the  disavantage,  also,  of 
making  only  one  standard  of  excellence,  an  arbi- 
trary one,  either  of  simple  memory  abilities  or  of 
pure  intellectual  powers.  Now  the  class  life  be- 
comes a  social  experience.  All  learn  to  live  and 
work  together.  It  becomes  a  practical  training  in 
the  art  of  democratic  living  under  religious  ideals. 
The  strong  help  the  weak,  and  soon  it  is  found  that 
all  have  elements  of  strength  and  each  can  play  a 
full  and  fair  share  in  the  life  of  all.  This  social 
experience  is  largely  possible  in  following  regu- 
lar schedules  of  lessons;  the  tasks  in  the  field  of 
book  knowledge  may  be  socially  shared ;  they  must 
be  if  they  are  to  have  any  reality.  But  the  next 
step  in  the  development  of  teaching  brings  the 
lessons  over  into  larger  reality  and  makes  the  so- 
cial experience  complete. 

That  next  step  is  the  direction  of  class  activity 
toward  specific  enterprises.  By  enterprises  is 
meant  purpose  and  projects  which  are  large 
enough  to  take  in  the  services  of  all,  sufficiently 
practical  to  have  meaning  and  to  call  out  their 
powers,  and  which  have  the  elements  of  the  ideal, 
of  aims  expressing  the  purposes  of  a  religious 
society.  These  are  not  simply  so-called  ^^expres- 
sional  activities^'  tacked  on  to  the  regular  class 

97 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

program  and  carried  forward  outside  the  class. 
For  little  cMldren  they  will  be,  usually,  the  work 
which  the  class  does  in  at  least  a  large  part  of 
its  periods  at  all  meetings.  They  will  he  things 
actually  done  together  in  the  class  as  well  as  at 
other  times.  It  will  be  hard  to  distinguish  be- 
tween the  class  times  and  the  other  times.  And 
for  all  classes  they  will  be  those  purposes,  plans 
and  activities  which  bind  the  class  together,  give 
meaning  to  their  studies  and  make  the  group  really 
a  class.  All  this  means  not  alone  that  the  lesson 
impressed  in  the  class  may  be  expressed  in  ac- 
tion, but  that  cooperative  action  will  be  the  means 
by  which  the  lesson  is  discovered  and  learned. 
The  teacher  will  not  think,  as  we  have  been  doing, 
in  this  order:  First,  what  lesson  shall  I  teach  in 
the  class ;  and,  second,  what  work  shall  I  suggest 
to  express  the  lesson.  The  teacher  will  rather 
plan :  what  work  shall  we  undertake  together  as  a 
means  of  discovering  together  the  way  of  the 
Christian  life?  That  brings  all  teaching  over  to 
life;  it  makes  us  think  every  lesson  out  in  the 
essential  terms  of  religion  for  the  young,  as  a  way 
of  living.  And,  since  the  work  of  the  class  is 
done  together,  it  makes  all  learning  an  experi- 
ence possessing  the  essential  characteristic  of  re- 
ligion, social  living. 

Teaching  of  this  character  is  not  possible  to 
pedagogical  cripples  who  cannot  teach  without 
the  crutches  of  lesson  systems  and  lesson  helps. 
It  is  only  possible  to  those  who  can  see  learning 
as  a  process  of  life,  religion  as  a  way  of  living 
together  in  the  common  human  family  of  God. 

98 


CHAPTER  VIII 

VENTURES  THAT  LEAD  TO  THE  GREAT 
VENTURE 

The  last  four  chapters  have  discussed  the  appli- 
cation of  modern  educational  principles,  by  sim- 
ple methods,  to  the  work  of  schools  commonly  or- 
ganized on  the  voluntary  basis,  with  weekly  ses- 
sions. But  the  first  chapter  urged  that  that  type 
of  school  would  be  found  to  be  entirely  inade- 
quate ;  why  then  go  on  improving  that  which  must 
ultimately  be  discarded?  One  answer  would  be 
that  the  way  to  get  a  modern  public  school  plant 
in  a  village  would  be  to  show  that  the  one-room, 
ungraded  school  was  not  big  enough  to  hold  mod- 
em education  when  it  got  to  work.  Another  an- 
swer would  be  that,  in  social  institutions,  evolu- 
tion has  many  advantages  over  revolution.  A 
further  answer:  the  best  way  to  convince  the 
church  of  the  need  for  a  wider  plan  is  for  the 
school  to  take  over  its  full  program  and  thus  dem- 
onstrate the  inadequacy  of  the  present  plan.  The 
improvements  we  make  by  the  adoption  of  modern 
methods  are  not  efforts  to  save  an  institution; 
they  are  endeavors  to  fulfil  a  duty ;  they  are  steps 
toward  the  accomplishment  of  the  ultimate  task 
of  the  school. 
Two  things  must  be  done :  First,  the  whole  task 

99 


THE  SCHOOL  IX  THE  MODERN  CHUECH 

mnst  be  held  constantly  in  vievr  so  that  every 
change  is  directed  toward  a  more  efficient  accom- 
plishment of  that  task;  second,  the  situation,  as 
it  is,  must  be  used  to  the  fullest  possible  advan- 
tage; whatever  new  methods,  aiding  toward  the 
ultimate  ideal,  are  now  possible  must  be  insti- 
tuted without  waiting  for  the  complete  machinery 
of  the  new  to  be  established. 

There  are  many  churches  and  communities  now 
ready  to  thoroughly  reorganize  their  work  of  the 
religious  education  of  the  young.  They  are  ready, 
if  only  they  saw  the  need,  to  organize  in  a  man- 
ner that  would  provide  a  program,  comparable  in 
the  light  of  the  task  to  be  ac-complished  with  the 
program  of  general  education,  comprehensive 
enough  to  embrace  all  the  child's  life  as  a  re- 
ligious person  and  as  one  growing  into  the  life 
of  a  society,  adequate  to  take  up  the  youth  life  of 
a  community  and  saturate  it  with  the  ideals,  train 
it  in  the  habits,  develojD  it  in  the  efficiencies  and 
abilities  of  a  common  social  life  realizing  a  divine 
society.  Such  a  progi^am  involves  the  employ- 
ment of  several  trained  educators,  a  schedule  of 
work  for  all  the  week,  a  special  physic-al  equip- 
ment, plans  of  coTTim unity  coordination  with  the 
educational  activities  of  all  sorts  in  the  environ- 
ment of  the  church,  and  the  backing  of  an  educa-r 
tional-religious  consciousness  in  the  church. 

But  the  number  of  such  churches  is  not  large. 
This  book  is  not  designed  specific-ally  for  them. 
Their  new  tasks  will  not  be  exactly  outlined  in 
books ;  their  programs  will  be  worked  out  by  the 
educational  experts  whom  they  employ.  Standard- 

100 


VENTUEES 

ization  must  not  precede  experience  here.  A  nmn- 
ber  of  schools  are  working  out  plans  such  as  we 
contemplate;  they  are  the  pioneers.  They  have 
no  stereotyped  methods  of  organization  or  sched- 
ules of  work.  But  it  is  possible  to  state  some  of 
the  general  features  of  an  adequate  program  as 
they  have  been  discovered  in  the  past  few  years 
of  experimentation  under  the  realization  of  a 
greatly  enlarged  responsibility.  A  brief  sketch 
of  these  general  requirements  will  be  a  means  of 
indicating  definite  goals  for  all  schools  and  stating 
particular  steps  which  schools  may  make  toward 
the  full  acceptance  of  their  tasks. 


A  PLATFOEM  FOB  A  CHUKCfi 

Ventures  will  be  limited  by  vision;  we  strike  no 
higher  than  we  aim.  Here  is  a  standard  toward 
which  almost  any  modern  church  might  work.  It 
has  been  prepared  with  the  possibilities  of  an 
average  church  in  mind. 

I.   THE  NATTJEE  OF  EELIGIOTJS  EDUCATIOIT 

Education  is  the  directed  development  of  per- 
sons into  their  full  social  experience.  Eeligious 
education  is  the  directed  development  of  per- 
sons as  determined  by  their  religious  nature  and 
by  the  aim  of  a  religious  society. 

The  immediate  aim  of  religious  education  is  the 
training  of  persons  to  live  completely  and  effi- 
ciently as  religious  beings ;  the  uUiinate  aim  is  the 
realization,  through  such  persons,  of  a  religious 

101 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHUECH 

social  order.  Religions  education  looks  toward 
men  and  women  whose  lives  are  controlled  by 
spiritual  standards  and  values,  whose  social  rela- 
tions are  those  of  Christian  love  and  good-will 
and  whose  purposes  in  life  are  to  realize  the  de- 
mocracy of  God  in  a  common  social  order  con- 
trolled by  spiritual  standards  and  values. 

The  concern  of  the  church  in  religious  educa- 
tion is  revealed  in  the  fact  that  the  purpose  of  the 
church  and  the  aims  of  religious  education  may 
be  stated  in  similar  terms.  The  church  exists  *  ^  to 
give  to  the  world  godlike  men  and  women  and  a 
God-willed  society. ' '  This  is  the  aim  of  religious 
education.  It  is  the  process  by  which  persons,  as 
religious  beings  are  developed,  as  to  their  powers, 
abilities  and  efficiencies.  It  is  the  process  by  which 
the  purpose  of  the  church  is  normally  realized. 
Religious  education,  in  its  many  aspects,  is  the 
normal  constant  process  by  which  the  evangelistic 
aim  of  the  church  is  realized.^ 

The  process  of  religious  education  is  that  of  in- 
spiring, instructing  and  training  human  persons 
in  the  ideals,  motives,  habits  and  efficiencies  of 
religious  living.  It  develops  the  efficiencies  of 
lives.  It  uses  teaching  as  a  means,  the  Bible  as  a 
means,  the  ^ 'faith' ^  as  a  means,  and  the  school  as 
an  agency,  but  the  purpose  and  product  is  the 
religious  person  and  the  religious  society. 

The  field.  The  religious  life  is  simply  the  whole 
life  as  it  is  qualified  and  enriched  with  spiritual 
ideals  and  power.    Religious  education  is  not  di- 

*  This  is  the  theme  of  the  author 's  ' '  Religious  Education  in  the 
Church,"  Scribners,  1918. 

102 


VENTUEES 

rected  to  the  mind  alone,  as  with  the  purpose  of 
storing  it  with  knowledge  about  religion,  nor  to 
**the  soul"  alone,  as  with  the  purpose  of  develop- 
ing some  separate  life ;  it  is  directed  to  the  whole 
of  lives  so  that  they  may,  in  all  their  powers,  in 
every  instinct,  abihty  and  relationship,  feel  and 
think,  will  and  act  in  that  characteristic  way 
which  we  call  religious.  Eeligious  education  is 
not  confined  to  instruction;  it  is  not  confined  to 
children  nor  to  the  Sunday  school.  It  is  operative 
in  every  experience  and  in  every  range  of  life. 
But  there  is  a  distinction  between  its  formal  and 
its  informal  processes,  between  those  which  arise 
incidentally  and  those  which  are  organized  spe- 
cifically. The  churches  are  interested  in  both 
kinds  of  processes ;  in  an  ideal  society  all  the  con- 
ditions of  life  will  be  such  as  to  contribute  always 
to  the  development  of  religious  character,  and  we 
shall  count  very  largely  on  the  informal  methods 
of  education,  through  social  experience  in  home 
and  school  and  playground.  But  the  formal 
processes  lie  immediately  under  our  control  and 
it  is  possible  at  once  to  organize  and  direct  them. 

Standard:  A  check,  of  information,  on  every 
young  person  in  the  community,  and  a  plan  of 
training  which  reaches  all  for  all  their  religious 
needs. 

The  Means,  What  are  the  means  of  edncation 
which  now  lie  under  or  can  be  brought  under  the 
direction  of  the  churches  so  that  they  can  become 
methods  of  formal  religious  education?  A  review 
of  the  activities  of  persons  which  contribute  to 
the  educational  process  would  help  to  answer  this 

103 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODEEN  CHUECH 

question,  and  also  would  serve  to  suggest  tlie 
breadth  of  the  field  of  religious  education.  The 
statement  of  these  activities  does  not  pretend  to 
completeness,  exact  logical  order  nor  scientific 
accuracy.  The  formal  process  of  education  has 
been  defined  as  *Hhe  organization  of  experience." 
Now,  taking  the  common  types  of  experience  or 
forms  of  activity,  which  are  those  which  the 
churches  can  direct  in  a  process  of  religious  edu- 
cation? Active  experiences  fall  into  two  groups, 
those  which  the  churches  can  immediately  direct, 
and  those  which  they  can  cause  other  agencies  to 
direct. 

It  is  of  prime  importance  to  remember  that  di- 
rection here  does  not  mean  arbitrary  control;  it 
means  stimulation  and  guidance  so  that  persons 
increasingly  exercise  their  own  powers  of  direc- 
tion ;  it  must  involve  for  all  actual  democratic  ex- 
perience in  organization,  selection  and  develop- 
ment of  activities. 

a.  Direct,  The  Church  can  organize  and  di- 
rect the  following  activities  (or  experiences)  of 
persons  : 

Social  groupings,  both  earlier  and  later. 
(Will  include  social  organization  and  directed 
social  living,  training  in  development  group 
relations  or  causing  normal  social  relations  of 
sexes,  revelation  of  personal  values.) 

Instruction.     (Will  include  Class  Teaching; 
Communicativeness.       Conference.       Discus- 
sion.     Leading    to    appreciation    of    values. 
Training  in  mental  abilities.    Directed  Labora- 
104 


VENTURES 

tory  experience,  developing  powers  of  instruc- 
tion.) 

Play.  (Including  Recreation,  Athletics, 
Amusement,  Pageants,  Dramatics.) 

Cooperative  Social  Enterprises.  (Will  in- 
clude Group  Activities,  Service  Enterprises, 
Training  in  Cooperation,  Expressional  Activi- 
ties.) 

Worship.  (Will  include  Stimulation  to  pri- 
vate Worship.  Training  in  group  forms  of 
expression.  Cultivation  of  aesthetic  apprecia- 
tion of  nature.) 

b.  Indirect,  The  Church  can  aid  the  officers 
responsible  for  the  provision  and  guidance  of  the 
following  activities  (or  experiences) : 

Training  the  child  ^s  physical  life  in  the  fam- 
ily. Play,  General  Instruction,  Helpful  service, 
Social  living,  including  enterprises,  coopera- 
tion. Daily  Work,  Community  Work,  Citizen- 
ship, Parenthood,  Developing  social  relations 
between  the  sexes.  Appreciation  of  Nature. 
The  two  groupings  (a  and  b)  are  not  rigidly 
exclusive;    responsibilities    which    the    churches 
have  directly  in  their  own  work  often  reach  over 
indirectly  into  the  work  of  other  agencies. 

II.    THE  DIEECT  EESPONSIBILinES  OP  THE  CHTJECH 

The  direct  responsibilities  of  the  church  in  re- 
ligious education  are  not  difficult  to  define.  But 
they  must  be  determined  by  principles  which  are 
fixed  and  uniform.  They  are  not  established  by 
institutional  needs;  they  are  determined  by  (a) 

105 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODEEN  CHURCH 

the  purpose  in  view,  (b)  the  needs  of  those  who 
are  to  be  educated,  (c)  the  laws  under  which  their 
lives  grow,  and  (d)  the  social  conditions  under 
which  the  work  must  be  carried  on.  The  group 
of  activities  which  the  church  can  immediately 
organize  and  direct  (described  above)  are  the 
ones  which  it  must  use  in  constructing  its  pro- 
gram of  religious  education.  Therefore  it  will 
organize  and  direct: 

Social  groupings.  As  a  part  of  its  task  a  church 
will  bring  persons  together  in  groups  in  order 
that  they  may  learn  to  live  together,  that  social 
coordination  and  habituations  may  be  effected, 
that  social  appreciations — of  the  values  of  per- 
sonality and  of  society — ^may  develop,  that  the 
young  may  play  together,  work  together  and  be 
instructed  together.  It  is  the  duty  of  a  church 
to  train  children  for  and  to  bring  them  into  its 
organization.  The  groupings  will  take  place  not 
only  in  meetings,  classes  and  societies,  but  in 
definite  efforts  to  associate  persons  of  like  stages 
of  development  in  small  groups  for  acquaintance 
and  cooperation.  A  church  will  lead  its  youth  into 
an  actual  experience  of  living  in  the  society  of 
God's  children,  in  a  true  democracy  of  the  spirit. 
Meetings,  classes,  Young  People's  Societies,  Boys' 
Clubs,  Girls'  Clubs,  Scouts  and  all  fitting  organ- 
izations have  their  most  important  bases  here. 

Such  groups  will  be  largely  and  increasingly 
autonomous ;  activity  in  them  will  be  an  experience 
in  social  self-control. 

Standard:  No  child  outside  of  an  organized 
group ;  no  group  instinct  neglected. 

106 


VENTURES 

Play,  A  church  will  organize  and  direct  the  free 
and  ideal  activities  of  its  people.  It  mil  recog- 
nize in  play  a  most  effective  means  of  education 
because  it  is  the  growing  person's  most  natural 
activity,  the  happiest  one,  the  one  into  which  most 
of  his  powers  are  projected,  in  w^hich  he  most 
freely  and  variedly  practices  social  adjustments 
and  the  one  in  which  he  acquires  his  own  habits 
and  forms  his  ideals.  Youth  always  will  play  and 
men  and  women  are  playing  more  than  ever ;  the 
church,  seeking  an  ideal  life  for  them,  must  pro- 
vide for  these  ideal  experiences.  It  must  not  only 
take  an  interest  in  play  and  cooperate  with  other 
agencies;  it  must  furnish  opportunities,  facilities 
and  guidance.  It  must  arrange  a  definite  pro- 
gram of  play  as  a  means  by  which  persons  learn 
to  live  together.    It  must  train  through  play. 

Standard:  Facilities,  time,  guidance  for  play 
and  general  recreation  of  all. 

Instruction,  A  church  will  provide  all  facilities 
needed  for  learning  the  way  of  religious  living. 
It  will  establish  learning  groups,  furnish  leaders, 
arrange  an  articulated  curriculum,  supervise  in- 
struction, coordinate  it  to  activities  and  unify  all 
its  work  into  an  educational  organization.  In- 
struction will  be  provided  for  the  follomng  pur- 
poses: (1)  Cooperative  discovery  of  truth.  Every 
class  is  a  social  experience  in  the  discovery  of  the 
mental  forces  and  tools  of  life.  (2)  Stimulation 
through  truth,  Eeligious  instruction  will  aim  to 
lead  to  familiarity  with  the  ideas  and  ideals  which 
guide  and  stimulate  to  religious  living.  Instruc- 
tion in  the  Bible  mil  be  planned  to  stimulate  to 

107 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODEEN  CHUBCH 

religious  character,  to  religious  action,  and  to  re- 
ligious social  organization.  (3)  Enrichment  of 
personality  through  truth.  Courses  will  be 
planned  so  that  each  one,  through  instruction, 
^may  obtain  his  spiritual  heritage.  Lives  are  to 
be  enriched  through  the  ideals  and  motives  of 
leaders,  developing  ethical  concepts,  enlarging  vi- 
sion of  the  universe  and  of  life's  meaning,  and  the 
impulse  of  the  rich  tide  of  the  past  which  must 
come  through  the  teaching  of  religious  history, 
through  the  Bible  and  through  later  history, 
through  literature  and  tradition.  (4)  Realization 
of  full  social  universe.  By  experience  the  church 
leads  each  one  into  his  full  environment.  Step 
by  step  his  enlarging  life  must  be  opened  up  to 
him ;  he  must  be  helped  to  understand  and  to  con- 
ceive religiously  the  life  of  the  family,  the  life  of 
the  neighborhood,  the  school,  work,  business,  play, 
social  living  in  all  its  phases,  going  out  into  the 
widening  circles  of  state  and  nation  and  the  world, 
reaching  out  until  the  universe  is  united  in  the 
love  and  power  of  God.  He  will  be  taught  to  dis- 
cover and  know  his  world  as  the  world  in  which 
he  is  living  and  will  go  on  to  live  as  a  religious 
person,  as  the  world  that  may  become  a  religious 
society.  This  instruction,  then,  will  include  in  its 
scope  the  family,  the  church,  civics,  social  duty, 
right  living.  Home  and  Foreign  Missions,  Inter- 
national or  World  Living ;  it  will  lead  to  the  ideas 
of  God  and  what  we  have  called  the  doctrines  of 
the  church.  It  will  have  numerous  forms  of  or- 
ganization: Sunday  schools.  Young  People's 
Classes  and  Society,  Men's  and  Women's  Clubs 

108 


VENTURES 

and  Societies,  week-day  schools  of  religion,  Lec- 
tures, Correspondence  and  extension  courses.  But 
all  forms  of  Instruction  must  be  coordinated  and 
directed  by  a  central  authority  in  each  church,  the 
Board  or  Committee  on  Religious  Education. 

Standard:  A  graded  curriculum  based  on  life 
and  social  needs  of  all;  opportunity  for  all  neces- 
sary subjects  at  some  time  and  for  development 
of  all  necessary  abilities. 

Cooperative  Social  Enterprises',  The  church 
will  develop,  as  a  part  of  its  task  in  religious  edu- 
cation, these  forms  of  experience  which  modern 
education  tends  most  to  stress.  It  will  provide 
for  the  learner's  way  of  discovering  truth  through 
experience.  It  ►will  plan  cooperative  activities 
definitely  on  the  principles  of  education,  that  we 
learn  through  experience,  that  only  that  is  real 
which  is  realized  through  all  the  powers,  in  action 
as  well  as  in  contemplation,  that  working  together 
we  develop  powers  of  cooperation  and  of  social 
living,  and  that  the  ideal  end  develops  vision,  en- 
larges ideals  and  strengthens  high  loyalties.  It 
will  organize  classes  as  forms  of  cooperative  en- 
terprise. All  the  service  activities  of  the  school, 
the  young  people's  society  and  the  various  organ- 
izations of  the  church  will  come  under  this  head. 
Ail  service  will  be  treated  as  important  not  alone 
for  what  it  accomplishes  (as  in  relief,  reform, 
etc.),  but  for  its  effects  on  those  who  serve.  The 
life  of  service  mil  be  part  of  the  program  of  re- 
ligious education.  Whatever  service  activity  in 
the  church — relief,  conununity  work,  missions, 
charities,  national  service — is  socially  organized 

109 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

must  be  coordinated  in  the  program  of  religious 
education.  The  work  in  which  a  group  engages 
can  never  be  considered  per  se,  nor  can  it  be  con- 
sidered solely  as  to  the  ends  sought;  it  must  be 
studied  and  guided  in  the  light  of  its  effect  on 
those  who  do  the  work. 

Standard:  Activity  a  conscious,  organized  di- 
rected element  of  varied  forms. 

Worship.  As  a  part  of  its  duty  in  religious  edu- 
cation a  church  will  (a)  train  in  the  art  of  wor- 
ship, and  (b)  provide  all  necessary  experience  in 
worship  as  a  means  of  religious  development. 
Fundamentally  worship  is  the  cultivation  of  the 
sense  of  spiritual  values  in  the  universe.  Back  of 
all  services  of  worship  there  must  be  a  conscious- 
ness of  worthful  ends  and  objects.  Then  the 
service  of  worship  will  become  the  social  stimulus 
of  our  joy  in  that  which  is  highest  and  best.  Di- 
vine worship  will  be  our  search  for  the  society  of 
God.  But  it  must  include  many  forms  of  appre- 
ciation of  beauty  and  of  joy.  It  has  an  element 
of  the  joy  of  human  fellowship.  It  is  strengthened 
by  the  fitting  beauty  of  edifice,  stimulated  by  mu- 
sic and  other  aesthetic  appeals,  intensified  by  uni- 
fied expression  of  sentiments  in  connnon  prayers 
and  song,  and  illuminated  and  guided  by  the  mes- 
sage from  the  pulpit.  Worship,  so  conceived, 
is  essential  to  the  program  of  religious  education, 
though  from  this  viewpoint,  it  has  been  almost 
wholly  neglected  by  the  churches.  It  will  include 
not  only  the  formal  services  of  the  church  and 
the  school  but  attention  to  (a)  private  prayer,  and 
devotion  and  meditation,  (b)  training  in  family 

110 


VENTURES 

worship,  (c)  graded  worship,  by  forms  or  methods 
suitable  to  the  developing  stages  of  young  lives 
and  to  the  needs  of  small  groups ;  classes  will  be 
trained  in  worship,  (d)  congregational  worship. 
It  will  involve  the  careful  designing  of  all  our 
present  orders  of  worship  with  reference  to  their 
effects  on  the  spiritual  lives  of  the  worshippers. 
It  will  call  for  careful  instruction  in  the  elements 
of  worship,  for  the  intelligent  appreciation  of 
hymns,  or  prayer  and  the  scriptures. 

Standard:  Varied  t}i)es  of  worship  designed  to 
meet  needs  according  to  age,  temperament  and 
circumstance. 


III.     INDIEECT  KESPONSIBILITIES  OF  A  CHUECH 

What  of  the  indirect  responsibilities  of  the 
church  in  Religious  Education?  There  are  cer- 
tain forms  of  teaching  and  training  in  which 
churches  cannot  directly  engage,  and  yet  these 
forms  affect  most  directly  and  potentially  the  de- 
velopment of  the  characters  of  persons.  In  these 
cases  it  is  essential  that  the  agencies  which  do  di- 
rectly teach  and  train  shall  be  guided  so  that  their 
work  may  be  directed  to  the  same  spiritual  aim  as 
that  of  the  church. 

1.  The  family  must  be  inspired  with  a  sense  of 
its  place  as  a  religious  institution  and  its  educa- 
tional responsibility  for  the  religious  character 
of  its  members. 

Parents  must  be  trained  in  classes,  to  under- 
stand the  duties  of  parenthood,  to  become  religious 
educators  of  their  children.   Here  the  responsi- 

111 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

bility  of  the  church  is  very  grave,  very  clear  and 
sadly  neglected.  If  children  cannot  be  reached 
in  their  early  lives,  in  their  homes  and  there 
trained  in  religious  living,  the  outlook  is  dark  in- 
deed. There  is  no  other  agency,  beside  the  church, 
to  guide  parents  in  the  duty  and  joy  of  training 
their  children  to  live  as  God's  children.  Classes 
must  be  provided  and  courses  conducted.  Meet- 
ings should  be  held  frequently  of  a  conference 
nature  for  parents.  Small  groups  should  be  or- 
ganized for  young  people  looking  forward  to 
marriage  and  home  life. 

2.  Public  schools  must  be  supported  and  guid- 
ed by  a  public  opinion  which  demands  a  moral 
product,  which  demands  that  the  young  shall  not 
become  hostile  to  spiritual  ideals  nor  indifferent 
to  them  through  school  experience.  The  school 
does  not  and  cannot  teach  religion  formally,  but 
its  experience  may  lead  to  the  interpretation  of 
life  in  terms  of  social  love  and  service.  It  can 
strengthen  the  love  of  beauty,  the  spirit  of  ap- 
preciation of  spiritual  values,  the  habits  of  com- 
munion with  nature  and  wdth  high  thoughts.  The 
church  should  become  the  inspirer  and  cooperator 
of  the  school. 

3.  In  the  commimity,  where  a  thousand  influ- 
ences are  operative  to  make  character,  the  church 
cannot  directly  determine  conditions,  but,  as  a 
religious  educator,  she  is  responsible  for  opinion, 
for  the  spirit  of  the  people  and  the  ideals  of  the 
town.  She,  further,  can  directly  train  her  people 
to  do  the  work  which  makes  the  community  a 

112 


VEXTUEES 

place  favorable  to  the  growth  of  spiritual  lives. 
She  can  cause  conditions  to  prevail  favorable  to 
religious  home.  This  responsibility  spreads  out 
into  the  world  community.  The  church  has  an  ex- 
tensive as  well  as  an  intensive  program  of  re- 
ligious education.  Her  task  is  not  only  to  teach 
and  train  her  own  people,  young  and  old,  but, 
also,  to  convert  the  world  so  that  all  its  life  may 
be  turned  to  a  force  for  godliness. 

TV.    THE  riELD  OF  A  CHirECH  rs-  EELIGIOUS  EDUCATION 

1.  The  field  as  to  persons ,  all  those  within  the 
parish,  or  within  the  area  of  a  church  who  are  not 
already  related  to  other  churches.  The  primary 
responsibility  is  for  the  young,  because :  they  are 
educable;  all  life  is  before  them;  they  are  the 
future  church  and  the  future  society.  But  no 
person  lies  outside  the  educational  responsibility 
of  the  church. 

2.  As  to  area:  Each  church  is  commonly  re- 
sponsible for  the  entire  life  of  a  parish,  but  with 
tasks  so  large  and  common  as  religious  education 
churches  will  find  coperation  not  only  feasible  but 
highly  desirable. 

3.  ^5  to  field  of  instruction  and  training:  All 
that  in  any  way  directly  contributes  to  the  de- 
velopment of  religious  character  and  efficiencies. 
Under  our  civil  ideals  the  church  is  the  social 
agency  peculiarly  responsible  for  religion;  the 
state  commits  religious  education  solely  to  the 
churches.    TVhen  the  churches  take  their  educa- 

113 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

tional  task  as  seriously  as  the  state  has  taken  its 
task,  then  the  world  will  take  seriously  our  as- 
sertion that  religion  is  the  most  important  of  all 
life's  concerns. 

By  religious  instruction  and  training  we  mean 
not  only  instruction  about  religion  and  not  only 
training  in  its  work,  but  all  forms  of  directed  ex- 
perience that  are  socially  designed  to  develop  the 
religious  qualities  and  powers  of  lives,  to  make 
persons  live  as  God's  children,  to  render  them  effi- 
cient to  make  this  world  His  home. 

V.      THE  TASK 

In  the  United  States  we  can  conceive  the  pro- 
gram of  the  church  with  peculiar  clarity  because 
it  is  the  only  institution  in  the  community  which 
exists  specifically  for  religious  purposes  and  it 
is  the  only  one  which  has  entire  freedom  in  mat- 
ters of  religious  teaching. 

1.  The  task  is  a  definite  one.  While  it  is  here 
conceived  in  those  broad  terms  of  life  which  any 
modem  concept  of  education  must  inevitably  use, 
it  is  also  purposely  limited  to  certain  specific 
activities  in  the  church.  In  a  word,  it  is  the  pro- 
gram of  the  church  so  far  as  it  has  to  do  with 
the  orderly,  designed  development  of  a  Christian 
society  through  training  the  lives  of  persons. 

2.  The  task  is  a  comprehensive  one.  But  it  is 
evident  that  this  task  is  so  comprehensive  and  so 
important  that  it  will  call  for  a  large  proportion 
of  the  time  of  those  who  are  being  trained,  a  large 

114 


VENTURES 

portion  of  tlie  time-program  of  chnrclies,  special 
trained  leadership  and  special  equipment.  The 
realization  of  these  needs  and  the  attempts,  in 
many  ways,  to  meet  them  will  effect  a  complete 
reorganization  of  the  program  of  churches  in  the 
next  few  years. 

3.  The  task  is  a  complicated  one;  it  is  no  longer 
the  simple  one  of  conducting  a  weekly  Sunday 
school  which  taught  a  series  of  lessons  in  the 
Bible.  It  now  includes  many  classes,  often  fully 
organized  week-day  schools,  professionally  trained 
and  employed  teachers  and  supervisors,  a  cur- 
riculum that  embraces  the  Bible,  church-history, 
social  service,  missions,  philanthropy,  vocational 
guidance,  family  life,  community  life,  temperance, 
hygiene,  scouting,  forms  of  church  usefulness, 
ethical  problems,  theology  and  pliilosophy.  Its 
activities  are  no  longer  confined  to  class  work^ 
they  spread  through  all  the  week  and  reach  out 
into  every  phase  of  social  and  community  living; 
they  reach  to  the  comers  of  the  earth.  The  task 
is  also  complicated  by  the  fact  that  its  increas- 
ing demands  on  time  must  be  adjusted  to  life- 
programs  which  tend  to  become  crowded  more 
and  more.  This  is  true,  especially,  in  the  case 
of  the  school  child.  One  problem  for  the  church 
is  to  secure  for  the  child  a  fair  measure  of  time 
for  religious  training. 

4.  The  tash  calls  for  coordination.  It  calls  for 
the  establishment  in  each  church  of  a  program, 
(a)  for  all  lives,  (b)  for  all  the  needs  of  lives, 

(c)  for  all  the  demands  of  the  kingdom  of  God, 

(d)  adapted  to  social  and  community  conditions,, 

115 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

(e)  graded  in  order  of  need  and  development. 
There  are  at  present  many  programs  of  instruc- 
tion, but  none  of  education.  Not  only  are  there 
serious  wastes  and  duplications  under  present 
conditions,  but  there  are  large  areas  untouched 
and  larger  ones  unorganized.  There  are  phases 
of  education  in  the  church  which  are  left  entirely 
to  fortuitous  circumstances;  there  are  forces  un- 
developed and,  so  far,  we  have  scarcely  touched 
the  formation  of  a  program  in  which  all  the  va- 
rious activities  would  be  coordinated,  related  in 
the  unity  of  a  common  purpose,  each  discharging 
its  due  function.  This  can  only  be  effected  by 
educational  leadership.  This  is  the  prime  need  in 
respect  to  religious  education  in  the  churches. 


116 


CHAPTER  IX 

STEPS  FORWARD 

The  realization  of  tlie  ideals  outlined  in  the  last 
chapter  will  depend  on  a  number  of  factors,  many 
of  which  are  at  once  controllable  in  almost  every 
church,  some  of  which  may  be  immediately  at- 
tacked and  brought  into  power  and  under  control, 
and  some  of  which  call  for  a  long  program  of  pa- 
tient development.  The  fact  that  a  church  can- 
not at  once  reach  the  ideal  is  a  double  reason  for 
proclaiming  that  ideal  and  beginning  to  move  to- 
ward it.  The  larger  program  is  here  stated  not 
to  discourage  those  who  can  realize  but  a  small 
portion  of  it,  but  to  enable  any  school  anywhere 
to  take  the  next  step  forward  from  that  point  in 
the  program  which  they  have  already  reached. 

The  principal,  larger  factors  toward  competency 
in  a  church  program  of  religious  education  are : 

A  general  leadership  conscious  of  the  task  and 
meaning  of  religious  education.  This  involves 
an  educated  ministry ;  the  personal,  spiritual  lead- 
er must  know  what  religious  education  means ;  he 
must  not  catch  at  empty,  current  phrases,  either 
of  commendation  or  of  condemnation;  he  must 
not  think  of  the  school  as  a  fifth  wheel  of  his  ma- 
chine ;  it  must  be  simply  the  form  of  organization 
through  which  an  essential  part  of  the  whole  work 

117 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

of  the  churcli  is  performed.  If  the  chnrch  takes 
its  work  seriously  it  will  include  these  qualifica- 
tions amongst  those  essential  for  its  minister.  It 
will  insist  on  general  education — as  contrasted 
with  either  limited  or  narrow  special  preparation 
— and  it  will  insist  on  sufficient  knowledge  of  re- 
ligious education  to  give  sympathy  and  under- 
standing for  the  work  as  it  develops  in  the  church. 
Few  considerations  are  of  greater  importance 
than  this  one ;  the  minister  is  still  the  leader,  and, 
as  all  who  work  in  religious  education  will  testify, 
he  is  still  the  most  serious  problem.  No  doubt  the 
ultimate  blame  rests  on  the  church;  but,  even 
then,  he  is  the  shepherd,  and  for  their  guidance, 
their  intellectual  training  in  religion,  he  is  re- 
sponsible. If  they  insist  that  his  task  is  a  pulpit- 
centric  one ;  if  they  tie  him  down  to  the  tread-mill 
of  parochial  trivialities,  then  he  must  shepherd 
them  into  better  concepts.  But  he  has  his  shep- 
herds ;  the  Theological  Seminaries  make  him  what 
he  is  with  their  traditional  systems.  The  people 
who  see  the  problem  of  the  church  at  first  hand 
need  to  insist  that  the  seminaries  shall  train  men 
in  the  light  of  the  real  fields  in  which  they  are  to 
work,  train  them  for  the  tasks  they  have  to  per- 
form, train  them  into  abilities  in  the  highly  spe- 
cialized forms  of  professional  service  before  them. 
With  some  notable  exceptions  the  minister  is  not 
a  professionally  trained  man ;  he  has  a  schooling, 
often  super-imposed  on  a  college  course,  in  the 
subjects  he  is  supposed  to  use  in  preaching.  He 
faces  a  professional  task  which  lasts  all  through 
the  hours  of  every  day,  and  he  is  trained  for  a 

118 


STEPS  FORWAED 

duty  wHcIl  lasts  but  an  hour  or  two  once  a  week. 
He  has  to  ^ide  the  lives,  organize  the  experi- 
ences, stimulate  the  minds  and  feelings,  form  the 
ideals  of  many,  always  with  the  aim  of  a  religious 
society  and  world — and  he  is  trained  principally 
in  linguistics,  history  and  philosophy!  The  great 
venture  for  the  v/hole  church  today  is  to  look  the 
present  hour  in  the  face,  to  look  at  the  streets  and 
highways  where  men  are,  and  then,  asking  what 
God  would  have  us  do  with  all  this,  to  insist  that 
the  schools  of  the  ministry  shall  prepare  men  who 
can  carry  out  the  will  of  God  with  the  ways  of 
men.  "We  will  have  a  real  leadership  when  the 
seminaries  are  forced  to  look  at  life  as  it  is  and  at 
lives  as  they  are  and,  especially,  to  recognize  the 
lives  of  the  young.^ 

But  the  need  for  general  leadership  implies 
more;  it  means  an  educated  church,  a  society 
understanding  the  meaning  of  religious  education 
and  hospitable  to  its  methods.  While  the  educa- 
tion of  the  church  is  the  first  duty  of  the  minister 
we  have  seen  that  the  situation  is  complicated  by 
the  fact  that  the  minister  is  often  lamentably 
ignorant  and  often  helpless  in  this  field.  Then  it 
becomes  the  duty  of  every  one  who  has  any  light 
to  pass  it  on.  The  missionary  obligation  rests  on 
every  advantage.  The  duty  to  labor  for  the  con- 
version of  others  applies  to  every  sort  of  conver- 
sion that  would  make  them  better  people,  better 
to  live  with  and  better  workers.    Help  the  minis- 

*  Before  the  Pulpit  Committee  calls  a  new  minister,  let  every 
member  read  "A  Voice  from  the  Crowd,'*  by  George  Wharton 
Pepper. 

119 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODEEN  CHUECH 

ter  to  get  for  his  library  table  the  best  books  deal- 
ing with  the  larger  aspects  of  his  work.  See  that 
he  gets  the  new  books  in  religious  education  even 
though  you  have  to  pass  them  on  to  him  from  your 
own  reading.  Be  sure  that  the  school  library  is 
properly  supplied  with  the  books  that  lead  to  in- 
telligent service.  The  writer  has  visited  thou- 
sands of  churches  and  he  has  never  seen  a  good, 
modem,  workers*  library  in  a  poor  church.  Be- 
sides, there  are  excellent  magazines  which  ought 
to  have  wide  circulation  in  every  church.  Church 
boards,  and  other  organizations  publish  for  free 
distribution  highly  valuable  pamphlets  on  modem 
ideals  and  methods.  The  materials  are  now  avail- 
able for  campaigns  of  promotion  and  the  stimula- 
tion and  guidance  of  the  thought  of  the  people.^ 


A   CORPS    OP  WORKERS 

The  second  general  factor  is  the  employment  of 
trained  educators.  The  educational  task  of  the 
modern  church  is  so  highly  specialized  that  it  re- 
quires the  direction  of  those  especially  trained  for 
that  task.  This  need  has  been  recognized  in  the 
development  of  the  profession  of  **  Church  Di- 
rectors of  Religious  Education.'*  ^ 

Besides  the  director  there  will  be  needed  pro- 
fessionally trained  teachers  to  carry  out  parts  of 
the  full  program  of  the  church ;  they  will  take  over 
the  larger  part  of  teaching,  arranging  a  program 

^Get  the  Circulars  of  The  Eeligious  Education  Association, 
Cliieago. 

*  Described  in  Chapter  VI. 

120 


STEPS  FOEWAKD 

of  classes  so  that  each  teacher  will  have  different 
classes  a  nnmber  of  hours  every  week.  No  one 
any  longer  questions  the  propriety  of  paying 
teachers  who  give  the  whole  or  the  greater  por- 
tion of  their  time  in  this  work.  Every  laborer  is 
worthy  of  his  hire  and  the  work  of  teaching  the 
religious  life  to  the  young  is  surely  worthy  of  the 
dignity  of  employed  service. 

But  what  can  the  *^ average''  church  do  toward 
such  an  ideal?  It  means  the  enlargement  of  the 
employed  staff  from  one,  the  minister,  to  at  least 
three  and  perhaps  many  more.  First,  there  are 
many  churches  that  would  find  it  just  as  easy  to 
pay  the  salaries  of  two  or  three  people,  as  they 
now  find  it  to  pay  one,  if  each  one  of  those  three 
really  had  a  clear-cut,  definite,  necessary  task. 
There  are  thousands  of  churches  ready  for  Direc- 
tors if  only  the  people  had  faith  enough  to  begin. 
When  they  see  that  the  child  is  a  responsibility  at 
least  as  immediate  as  the  adult  they  will  employ 
a  minister,  an  educator,  for  the  children  just  as 
naturally  as  they  now  employ  one  for  the  adults. 
The  community  that  engages  twenty  or  thirty  per- 
sons solely  for  the  general  education  of  children 
can,  if  they  believe  in  their  children  as  religious 
persons,  afford  at  least  half  that  number,  if 
needed,  for  the  religious  training  of  their  chil- 
dren. 

At  least  this  step  may  be  taken  in  any  church : 
see  that  the  actual  direction  of  work  in  education 
is  in  the  hands  of  people  who  know  what  the  work 
means.  There  are  always  some  godly  educators — 
often  there  are  more  than  we  imagine — in  every 

121 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODEEN  CHURCH 

community  who  will  give  tlieir  voluntary  services. 
The  program  of  the  church  for  the  young  should 
be  in  their  hands.  Let  them  use  their  specialized 
training  and  experience.  But  they  must  remem- 
ber that  the  task  of  religious  education  is  differ- 
ent, in  many  respects,  from  the  task  of  the  public 
schools.  It  cannot  be  narrowed  down  into  their 
present  mechanizations ;  it  cannot  be  accomplished 
wholly,  nor  even  principally  by  classes  and  in- 
struction routine;  it  embraces  the  widest  reaches 
and  greatest  depths  of  every  life ;  it  has  a  purpose 
higher  than  general  education  has  yet  stated  for 
itself.  But  the  general  educator,  with  a  religious 
vision  and  purpose,  is  a  worker  that  every  church 
ought  to  use  and  follow.  Under  such  guidance  the 
work  of  religious  education  would  so  develop  that 
its  significance  would  be  evident;  its  program 
would  soon  become  so  convincing  that  support  for 
adequate  specialized  leadership  would  be  supplied. 

A  DIEECTIVE  BODY 

The  third  factor  toward  efficiency  will  be  the 
organization  of  a  special,  responsible  directing 
body  in  the  church.  This  now  usually  takes  the 
form  of  a  Board  or  Committee  on  Religious  Edu- 
cation. This  is  a  step  possible  in  every  church. 
It  is  obligatory  on  churches  of  the  Methodist  com- 
munions according  to  their  Discipline.  It  has 
been  formally  adopted  as  the  standard  by  several 
of  the  denominational  boards.  The  Board  is  sim- 
ply the  group  officially  appointed  in  the  local 
church,  selected  on  the  basis  of  their  qualifications 

122 


STEPS  FOEWARD 

in  religious  education,  to  be  responsible  for  the 
entire  program  in  their  field,  for  school,  curricu- 
lum, teaching  staff,  program  of  activities,  recrea- 
tion, community  coordinations,  budget,  physical 
plant,  all  employed  and  voluntary  workers  neces- 
sary to  the  entire  program  of  religious  education.^ 

EQUIPMENT 

The  next  step  forward  will  be  the  provision  of 
physical  facilities  for  a  program  of  religious  edu- 
cation. That  simply  means  that  there  will  be  the 
buildings,  rooms,  equipment  and  open  spaces 
necessary  to  accommodate  every  form  of  organ- 
ization and  activity  for  the  young. 

The  ideal  requirements  as  to  physical  equip- 
ment can  only  be  briefly  stated;  they  are  so  in- 
tricate as  to  details  and  so  varied  according  to 
types  of  work  to  be  done  that  special  books  are 
devoted  to  this  subject.^  Many  churches  now  have 
school  buildings,  various  degrees  of  which  have 
been  designed  for  educational  purposes.  These 
provide  a  separate  classroom  for  every  class  in 
the  school,  with  two  to  four  assembly  rooms  for 
departments,  and  with  other  larger  rooms  for 
social  and  recreation  purposes.  The  whole  plant 
seems  to  be  so  large  as  to  be  beyond  the  means  of 
the  average  church.  It  involves  an  expenditure 
calling  for  most  careful  thought,  for  these  rooms 
for  classes  will,  under  current  plans,  be  used  only 

^  Described  in  detail  in  ' '  The  Modern  Sunday  School  and  Ita 
Present-Day  Task,"  Henry  F.  Cope. 

2 ''The  Sunday-School  Building  and  Its  Equipment,"  H.  F. 
Evans. 

123 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

once  a  week  and  then  only  for  about  one  hour ;  the 
assembly  rooms  will  be  nsed  only  a  few  times  each 
week.  One  would  hesitate  to  put  up  a  public 
school  building — or  any  other  building  except  a 
lodge  or  a  church — to  be  used  only  one  hour  a 
week.  When  the  school  assembles  each  class  needs 
a  separate  room,  needs  it  so  badly  that  even  this 
heavy  expense  seems  to  be  justified.  But  the 
whole  plan  is  wrong;  it  concentrates  all  religious 
instruction  in  a  single  hour  and  demands  equip- 
ment for  that  single  hour  adequate  to  carry  the 
entire  load  at  once.  It  is  like  an  expensive  plant 
which  runs  at  peak-load  for  one  hour  and  then 
shuts  down  the  rest  of  the  week.  Why  not  spread 
the  load?  Would  it  not  be  possible  for  the  church 
to  arrange  a  schedule  of  classes  so  that  every  child 
should  have  more  than  one  hour  of  instruction 
and  yet  at  no  time  would  there  be  more  than  a 
small  proportion  of  the  students  in  classes  ?  Thus, 
instead  of,  say,  20  class  rooms,  three  to  five  would 
be  sufficient. 

So  far,  then,  as  physical  provision  for  classes  is 
concerned  a  step  forward  may  be  taken  by  se- 
curing four  or  five  properly  equipped  rooms,  and 
these  will  be  sufficient  for  many  schools,  provided^ 
that  the  step  mentioned  above,  the  employment 
of  a  professional  leader  has  been  already  taken, 
and  that  the  step  to  be  next  described,  the  pro- 
vision of  a  week-long  program,  has  been  made. 
For  the  school  which  has  a  week  schedule,  instead 
of  crowding  all  activities  into  one  day,  wiU  dis- 
tribute them  with  some  equality  through  the  week, 

124 


STEPS  FOEWARD 

and  that  school  will  need  a  much  smaller  build- 
ing and  fewer  rooms  than  the  one-day,  peak-load 
school. 

But  the  modem  school  needs  more  than  class 
rooms;  it  organizes  its  work  with  instruction  as 
incidental;  it  will  need  rooms  and  equipment  for 
a  great  variety  of  activities,  for  social  gatherings, 
clubs,  societies,  orchestras,  bands,  play,  recrea- 
tion, hobbies,  shopwork  and  facilities  for  forms  of 
service.  Red  Cross,  sewing  bands,  Scouts,  devo- 
tional and  worshipping  groups.  But  the  accom- 
modations of  so  great  a  variety  of  activities  de- 
pend very  largely  on  wisdom  in  planning  the 
rooms,  in  equipping  them  and  in  the  arrangement 
of  a  schedule  which  keeps  them  all  in  use.  Leav- 
ing out  of  consideration  for  a  moment  such  special 
purposes  as  the  gymnasium  and  workshop,  for  the 
church  of  from  two  to  four  hundred  members 
eight  or  nine  rooms  would  be  ample,  four  to  six 
of  which  could  be  smaller  rooms  arranged  for 
classes,  while  all  the  rooms  could  be  used  for  so- 
cial and  similar  purposes. 

An  adequate  physical  plant  means  more  than  a 
building;  it  means  equipment  for  all  rooms  for  all 
their  purposes,  and  it  means  proper  maintenance 
and  care.  The  selection  of  the  equipment  calls 
for  patient  study  of  needs  and  of  present  possi- 
bilities on  the  part  of  the  Board  of  Religious  Edu- 
cation; to  keep  the  plant  at  its  highest  level  of 
cleanliness,  healthfulness  and  efficiency  is  not  only 
a  general  duty,  it  is  one  of  the  most  effective 
means  of  training  the  minds  of  those  who  use  it. 

125 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODEEN  CHUECH 


A  PEOGRAM 

An  ideal  situation  in  a  churcli  will  have  as  its 
organizing  center  a  comprehensive  program.  We 
have  worked  for  a  long  while  at  a  program  of  in- 
struction, with  the  result  that  we  have  a  highly 
complicated  institution  called  the  Sunday  school; 
it  is  time  that  we  worked  out  a  program  of  edu- 
cation. Those  who  develop  this  will  come  to  see 
the  life  of  children  in  its  entirety;  they  will  con- 
sider the  processes  of  the  development  of  religious 
character  and  abilities  as  going  on  all  the  time; 
they  will  recognize  the  possibilities  of  co5peration 
in  every  institution  and  occasion  that  touches  the 
lives  of  children  at  any  time.  That  committee 
will  recognize  especially  the  tremendous  impor- 
tance and  value  of  the  leisure  hours;  they  will 
seek  to  use  them,  not  to  drive  children  from  the 
free  outdoors  into  classes,  but  to  direct  their  free 
play  so  that  they  may  get  the  greatest  joy  and  the 
greatest  possible  good  out  of  it.  They  will  rightly 
estimate  the  hunger  for  recreation  and  for  amuse- 
ment and  the  power  of  the  present  commercial 
amusement  agencies.  In  a  word  they  will  look 
out  on  the  whole  community  and  see  it  as  a  con- 
stantly operative  school  of  life,  and  they  will 
look  out  on  the  whole  of  every  child's  life,  his 
complete  time  program  and  his  range  of  interests 
and  activities,  and  see  all  as  means  of  realizing 
the  purposes  of  the  church  in  religious  educa- 
tion. Then  that  committee  will  sit  down  and  plan 
a  community  program  of  religious  education. 

126 


STEPS  FOEWARD 


A  COMMUNITY  PKOGRAM 


The  construction  of  a  program  mil  involve :  (a) 
a  survey  of  the  field,  the  community,  its  people 
and  their  needs  (for  details  see  Chapter  Five) ; 
of  the  resources  of  the  community ;  of  the  church, 
its  persons,  working  forces,  organizations,  equip- 
ment and  present  program;  (b)  a  survey  of  the 
means  by  which  the  purpose  of  religious  educa- 
tion may  be  developed  in  the  community,  present 
activities — of  play,  study,  work — which  may  be 
utilized;  social  gatherings,  meetings,  worship, 
schools,  libraries,  lodges  or  clubs;  materials  of 
study,  literature,  facts  of  current  life,  history, 
natural  phenomena;  (c)  an  attempt  to  effect  co- 
ordination amongst  the  agencies  now  at  work. 
The  committee  will  select,  determine  the  places, 
time-schedules  and  work  of  the  different  agencies 
and  organizations  which  can  best  do  its  work.  It 
will  study  all  the  societies  in  the  church  and  seek 
to  effect  an  orderly  program,  free  from  overlap- 
ping and  competition  or  duplication,  in  the 
Brotherhoods,  Women's  Societies,  Young  People's 
Societies,  Junior  Societies,  Pastor's  Classes, 
Scouts,  Camp-Fire  Girls,  Knights,  Bands,  Guilds, 
Leagues,  Missionary  Circles  and  like  organiza- 
tions. Training  Classes,  Service  agencies,  Mercy 
Bands,  Play,  Recreation  and  Athletic  organiza- 
tions and  the  many  other  organizations  within  the 
church.  Their  program  will  be  conditioned  by 
programs  which  are  made  up  of  activities  out- 
side the  church,  by  school-work,  societies,  educa- 

127 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

tional  duties,  as  music,  etc.,  by  clubs  and  social 
interests,  by  recreation  plans. 

No  matter  how  large  and  strong  a  church  may 
be  it  will  not  accomplish  a  program  of  this  char- 
acter over  night;  in  any  case  it  will  take  a  long 
time.  No  matter  how  small  a  church  may  be  there 
is  essentially  nothing  in  the  program  which  it 
cannot  attempt.  In  fact,  the  small  church  has  ad- 
vantages in  making  this  venture  toward  greater 
efficiency.  It  has  a  smaller  number  of  factors  to 
deal  with  and  therefore  it  has  a  simpler  task.  It 
should  begin  by  seeing  that  its  committee  or  Board 
of  religous  education  will  seriously  take  up  this 
responsibility.  Let  them  begin  by  gathering  the 
facts.^  The  community  may  seem  to  be  so  small 
and  compact  that  every  one  already  knows  the 
facts;  a  survey  will  reveal  the  fallacy  of  that 
impression.  It  will  furnish  the  facts  necessary  to 
plan  any  organization  of  forces. 

All  this  organizing  and  planning  will  have  little 
value  unless  the  next  simple  step  is  taken:  adver- 
tise your  program.  Make  a  plain  plan  and  then 
make  it  plain  to  every  one.  Whatever  programs 
are  arranged  should  be  known  to  all  so  that  fami- 
lies make  their  plans  to  fit  into  the  general  scheme 
for  all.  Do  not  fear  printer's  ink,  even  though 
you  know  your  plans  are  imperfect.  Your  printed 
programs  are  like  railroad  schedules,  far  from  in- 
spired but  wholly  essential.  Let  every  one  know 
everything  that  is  available  in  the  church  and  in 
the  community  of  a  character  helpful  to  the  lives 

*A  good  guide  will  be  found  in  ''A  Survey  of  Religious  Educa- 
tion in  a  Church/'  by  W.  C.  Bower.     (Univ.  of  Chicago  Press.) 

128 


STEPS  FOEWARD 

of  the  young.  The  church  calendar  may  do,  as  a 
medium,  if  it  is  thoroughly  revised.  It  ought  to 
be  the  ^' house-organ"  of  this  concern  of  several 
hundred  workers.  It  ought  to  present  every  week 
a  fairly  complete  program  of  healthful,  helpful, 
interesting  opportunities  and  activities,  all  making 
for  finer  boys  and  girls,  better  men  and  women 
and  a  more  truly  divine  society. 

The  last  step  to  be  mentioned — ^not  the  last  to 
be  taken — must  be  evident  by  this  time:  secure 
community  cooperation  and  coordination.  The  ulti- 
mate purpose  is  to  make  the  whole  of  social  liv- 
ing a  means  of  training  in  religion.  Our  pro- 
grams may  be  adjusted  to  the  programs  of  schools, 
libraries,  park-boards  and  recreation  agencies  and 
they  must  work  toward  a  common  program  for  the 
entire  community. 

Now  we  can  turn  to  look  at  the  detail  of  the 
program  of  instruction  looking  toward  a  program 
requiring  more  time  or  affording  a  richer  pro- 
gram than  is  now  possible  on  the  Sunday  schedule. 


129 


CHAPTER  X 
THE  WEEK-DAY  SCHOOL 

I.    THE  NEED  FOE  EXTENSION 

The  greater  the  efficiency  of  the  modern  Sunday 
school  the  keener  will  be  its  realization  of  inade- 
quacy. It  is  only  when  we  are  not  trying  to  do 
all  that  we  ought  to  do  that  we  are  satisfied  with 
what  we  have  done.  Only  the  school  with  a  short- 
measure  standard  will  be  content  with  its  work. 
When  the  school  realizes  that  its  program  is  not 
less  than  that  of  adequate  preparation  of  the 
young  for  life  in  a  religious  society,  that  it  looks 
forward  to  the  realization  of  the  kingdom  of  God 
through  its  training  for  the  young,  then  it  will 
see  that  a  program  so  large  as  this  cannot  pos- 
sibly be  accomplished  in  a  series  of  weekly  meet- 
ings or  a  series  even  of  the  most  intensive  and 
efficient  class  periods. 

It  may  be  that  the  school  could,  if  the  condi- 
tions of  instruction  were  favorable,  give  the  chil- 
dren a  fairly  adequate  knowledge  of  the  Bible  in 
the  time  afforded  by  its  present  schedules.  That 
was  the  old  ideal,  the  school  would  be  satisfied 
with  itself  when  its  schedules  of  instruction  and 
its  management  of  sessions  permitted  the  teacher 
to  take  a  child  through  the  Bible  in  so  many  years. 

130 


THE  WEEK-DAY  SCHOOL 

Now  we  have  a  much  larger  task,  one  in  which 
biblical  instruction  is  a  means  to  an  end.  The 
task  is  no  less  than  the  training  of  lives  in  all 
the  knowledge,  ideals,  habits,  efficiencies  and 
motives  of  life  in  a  society  which  is  guided  by- 
spiritual  ideals.  The  school  is  to  take  almost  the 
entire  burden  so  far  as  schoohng  goes,  of  train- 
ing this  child  so  that  he  will  live  the  life  of  Chris- 
tian goodness,  kindness,  social  love  and  truth, 
so  that  he  will  be  efficient  to  work  in  society  to  se- 
cure Christian  conditions  of  living  for  others,  so 
that  he  may  be  able  to  do  his  full  part  to  make  his 
age  a  truly  Christian  age.  Can  that  be  accom- 
plished by  a  series  of  weekly  lessons  each  about 
thirty  minutes  long? 

Society  is  not  mistaken  in  devoting  about 
twenty-seven  hours  a  week  for  nine  months  of 
each  year  of  the  growing  child's  life  to  his  gen- 
eral training.  Is  society  right  in  devoting  only 
one-half  of  one  hour  each  week  to  his  training  in 
the  motive  and  spirit  of  right  living?  With  the 
whole  burden  of  religious  training  resting  on  the 
churches,  since  the  schools  are  excluded  from  the 
work  and  the  families  have  abandoned  it,  surely 
we  must  see  the  folly  of  a  program  of  education 
that  gives  often  fifty  times  as  much  time  to  train- 
ing in  the  method  of  making  a  living  as  it  does  to 
the  motives  of  life.  ^g 

It  is  evident  we  cannot  get  more  time,  or  at  th  , 
best  we  can  get  but  little  more  time  for  religi:^     ^ 
instruction  on  Sunday.     Even  though  t  ^    -"        ^ 
arrange  two  sessions  of  Sunday  school.  ^^^^^  ^ 
long  been  the  custom  in  England,  that  f^^^^   Boards 

131 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODEEN  CHUECH 

be  one  calling  for  most  careful  deliberation.  One 
wonders  whether  it  is  wise  to  add  to  the  school 
burdens  on  the  day  of  rest.  As  the  Sunday  school 
becomes  more  truly  a  school  it  must  more  and 
more  carry  over  some  of  the  work-emphasis  of  the 
day  school  and  so  tend  to  make  this  day  less  truly 
a  day  of  rest. 

All  our  needs  point  to  a  method  which  is  not 
entirely  new;  it  has  been  tried  for  years  in  the 
past,  rarely  in  North  America  but  frequently  in 
Europe.  That  method  is  to  provide  for  regular 
classes  in  religious  studies  during  the  week.  We 
cannot  have  such  classes  in  public  schools  in  the 
United  States.  It  is  best  that  the  churches  should 
be  solely  responsible  for  them  because  they  are  to 
carry  forward  the  work  of  the  churches.  It  would 
be  a  serious  mistake,  so  far  as  the  future  of  the 
churches  is  concerned,  if  they  should  commit  to 
other  agencies  the  responsibility  for  the  religious 
training  of  the  young. 

Week-day  religious  education  is  a  relatively  new 

phrase.    It  represents  the  new  consciousness  on 

the  part  of  the  churches  of  responsibility  for  a 

full  program  of  religious  instruction.    It  has  had 

practical  demonstration  in  a  number  of  instances. 

In  brief,  it  can  be  described  as  the  system  by 

which  a  church,  or  a  group  of  churches,  arrange 

that  the  children  of  a  parish  or  a  community  shall 

'ij  instructed  in  religion  in  classes  which  are  held 

^^tated  times  during  the  week.    It  looks  to  some- 

with  i^Tich  more  comprehensive  than  the  occa- 

its  man^^s^Sj  as  for  catechumens,  which  churches 

to  take  a  cY^  provided.     It  provides  a  series  of 

132 


THE  WEEK-DAY  SCHOOL 

classes,  with  work  usually  graded  parallel  to  the 
public  school  grades,  for  all  children.  The  plans 
usually  contemplate  at  least  one  week-day  full 
recitation  period  of  from  thirty  to  forty-five 
minutes  under  expert  teachers,  in  regularly  or- 
ganized classes,  for  every  child  each  week.  In 
many  instances  children  are  offered  from  two  to 
three  such  periods  a  week. 

n.    THE  GAEY  PLAN  OF  INSTRUCTIOlSr 

At  the  time  of  writing  there  are  enrolled  over 
sixteen  hundred  children  in  schools  for  week-day 
instruction  in  religion  in  Gary,  Indiana.  It  is 
fair  to  say  that  these  schools  have  passed  beyond 
the  experimental  stage.  Communities  everywhere 
are  beginning  to  ask,  Just  what  are  the  features 
of  the  Gary  schools  of  religion? 

The  Gary  religious  schools  constitute  a  system 
to  provide  instruction  in  religion  for  pupils  in 
elementary  schools,  the  whole  being  managed  by 
a  city  Board  of  Eeligious  Education.  They  are 
under  the  control  of  no  particular  church  and  are 
often  called  community  Church  schools.  But  it  is 
the  churches  that  take  the  lead  in  organizing  the 
city  Board;  every  cooperating  church  is  repre- 
sented by  its  pastor  and  Superintendent  who  are 
ex  officio  members  of  the  City  Board  of  Eeligious 
Education.  The  rest  of  the  Board  is  made  up  by 
each  church  electing,  or  selecting — as  it  may 
choose,  two  laymen.  The  distinctive  features  of 
general    organization   then   are:    a   city   Boards 

133 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHUECH 

elected  from  the  churclies,  conducting  a  com- 
munity series  of  schools. 

Supervision  is  provided  through,  first,  generally, 
an  Executive  Board,  owning  property  and  making 
contracts,  and,  second,  immediately,  through  a 
City  Superintendent  of  Religious  Education  and 
a  regular  supervisor  of  school  work.  The  Super- 
visor received  a  salary;  the  Superintendent  serves 
without  salary.  Nine  teachers  are  employed,  all 
on  salaries.  They  give  full  time  every  week-day 
to  the  work,  each  taking,  as  a  rule,  one  or  a  group 
of  grades,  not  more  than  two  at  a  time,  in  the 
different  buildings. 

The  schedule  of  classes  is  arranged  on  the  basis 
of  the  program  of  the  public  schools.  In  Gary  the 
schools  are  twelve-grade  schools,  each  having  a 
program  which  alternates  between  class  recita- 
tions and  some  other  form  of  activity,  as  gymna- 
sium, outdoor  work,  nature  study,  shopwork  and 
auditorium.  Now  the  periods  of  the  latter  group, 
that  is,  those  which  are  not  regular  recitation 
periods,  are  called  ^'free  periods.''  The  school 
authorities  have  arranged  that  any  child  may  be 
excused,  at  the  request  of  his  parents,  to  go,  dur- 
ing a  free  period,  to  any  other  educational  work ; 
he  may  go  to  a  private  music  lesson  or  to  any- 
thing which  the  school  can  recognize  as  having 
educational  value.  The  Gary  system  takes  ad- 
vantage of  this  arrangement  by  having  the  chil- 
dren excused,  at  the  parent's  request,  during  free 
periods  to  take  religious  instruction.  The  class 
schedule  provided  that  every  child  may  have  two 

134 


THE  WEEK-DAY  SCHOOL 

hours  of  religious  instruction  each  week ;  this  in- 
cludes the  high  school  grades. 

It  is  important  that  the  peculiar  arrangement 
which  prevails  in  Gary  should  be  perfectly  clear. 
It  has  been  asserted  often  that  the  Gary  school 
children  receive  instruction  in  religion;  they  do, 
but  only  so  far  as  their  parents  send  them  to  the 
church  schools.  It  has  been  said  that  Gary  has  a 
system  of  public  schools  teaching  religion  or  that 
religion  is  taught  in  the  Gary  public  schools; 
either  statement  is  entirely  false.  The  public 
school  system  has  no  official  connection  in  any 
way  with  the  church  school  system.  The  public 
schools  would  go  on  with  their  program  just  the 
same  if  the  church  schools  did  not  exist,  as  they 
did  before  the  church  schools  were  organized. 
The  simple  fact  is  that  the  churches  have  taken 
advantage  of  a  unique  and  quite  successful  feature 
of  the  public  school  schedule. 

The  Gary  church  schools  are  working  out  a 
curriculum  of  their  own ;  the  leaders  are  awake  to 
educational  ideals  in  this  field,  and  they  are  con- 
scious of  the  practical  needs  of  children.  The 
methods  of  work  naturally  are  correlated  to  those 
used  in  the  public  schools;  that  results  in  some 
correlations  of  materials  and  curriculum.  But, 
in  thinking  of  the  curriculum,  two  facts  have  to 
be  borne  in  mind :  First,  that  these  are  the  schools 
of  a  community;  they  have  enough  to  do  to  give 
general  religious  instruction;  whatever  may  be 
peculiar  to  each  church  can  be  taught  in  that 
church  in  its  Sunday  school.  Second,  that  the 
scholars  in  these  week-day  schools  are  not  the 

135 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

same  people  as  in  the  Sunday  schools;  they  do 
include  most  of  the  latter,  but  they  number  many 
others.  Rev.  W.  G.  Seaman,  the  Superintendent, 
says:  ^^A  partial  survey  of  the  enrollment,  made 
when  it  stood  at  1,268  (that  is  about  three-fourths 
of  the  total)  showed  that  just  300  children  did  not 
know  the  religious  preferences  of  their  homes,  and 
that  143  of  those  who  gave  a  religious  preference 
were  not  attending  any  Sunday  school.  More  than 
one-third  of  our  total  enrollment  was,  therefore, 
of  children  who  were  getting  no  other  religious 
instruction. ' ' 

The  pupils  include  Roman  Catholics,  Jews  and 
many  other  faiths.  It  is  evident  that  such  schools 
cannot  traverse  the  civil  right;  they  do  not  use 
or  depend  on  public  funds  in  any  way. 

Financial  support  for  the  system  is  secured 
through  the  city  organization  which  makes  a  city- 
wide  appeal.  The  money  comes  from  parents  of 
children  being  instructed,  from  the  local  churches 
which  raise  funds  or  put  the  schools  on  their  bud- 
gets and,  to  some  extent,  from  general  denomina- 
tional boards  which  see  the  importance  of  this 
work. 

One  must  not  think  of  the  Gary  schools  as 
unique  altogether.  It  would  be  possible  to  ob- 
tain some  free  hours  in  the  week's  schedule  wher- 
ever the  community  demanded  it.  And  there  re- 
main also  the  hours  immediately  after  school. 
Something  of  what  may  be  done,  on  lines  of  re- 
ligious instruction  for  elementary  school  children, 
by  the  use  of  the  periods  following  school,  is  re-^ 
vealed  in  the  experience  of  other  cities. 

136 


THE  WEEK-DAY  SCHOOL 

in.    NEW  YORK  CITY  PLANS 

Next  to  the  organization  for  week-day  instruc- 
tion in  religion  under  tlie  church-community  Board 
of  Eehgious  Education  at  Gary,  Indiana,  the  va/- 
rious  forms  of  work  in  New  York  will  rank  in 
importance.  Here  week-day  religious  instruc- 
tion is  promoted  by  an  Inter-denominational  Com- 
mittee consisting  of  the  most  prominent  educators 
in  all  the  churches  of  the  city.  The  types  of 
classes  and  schools  include  a  few  on  schedules 
similar  to  the  Gary  church  schools,  a  number  meet- 
ing on  regular  schedules  after  the  afternoon  ses- 
sions of  the  public  schools,  some  private  schools 
usually  for  children  in  private  general  schools 
and  a  large  number  of  Jewish  community  schools 
principally  on  a  religious  basis.  It  is  estimated 
that,  amongst  the  Protestants,  there  are  over  800 
children  of  the  Dutch  Reformed  church  alone  in 
week-day  classes,  8,000  of  the  Roman  Catholic, 
outside  of  the  parochial  schools,  25,000  in  the  Jew- 
ish community  schools  and  15,000  in  private 
schools. 

A  number  of  churches  in  New  York  city  conduct 
regular  classes  for  their  children  on  several  after- 
noons of  each  week.  Most  of  these  meet  about 
3  P.  M. ;  sometimes  the  younger  grades  are  able, 
on  the  city  school  schedule,  to  meet  earlier.  Teach- 
ers are  employed ;  but  the  schedule  does  not  per- 
mit of  full-time  teaching.  The  lessons  are  usually 
independent  of  the  Sunday  school  program. 

The  inter-denominational  committee  in  New 
York  is  now  engaged  in  securing  funds  with  which 

137 


THE  SCPIOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

to  make  a  thorough  survey  of  needs  and  conditions 
in  the  city  and,  under  the  guidance  of  recognized 
experts,  to  prepare  a  series  of  reconnnendations 
looking  toward  a  comprehensive,  unified  system 
of  week-day  religious  instruction  for  the  city  and 
for  the  needs  of  all  faiths. 


17.    THE  TOLEDO  PLAN 

Toledo,  Ohio,  has  a  plan  in  which  the  week-day 
instruction  is  promoted  by  the  city  Federation  of 
Churches.  The  city  Board  of  Education  recently 
passed  a  rule  that  ^^any  parent  may  request  the 
school  principal  to  permit  his  child  to  attend  the 
classes  in  religious  instruction  one  hour  a  week 
out  of  the  school  time.'*  A  postal  card  was  sent 
to  every  family  inviting  them  to  enroll  the  chil- 
dren in  the  fifth  and  sixth  grades,  these  being  the 
only  ones  for  which  provision  has  been  made  so 
far.  No  fees  are  charged  and  enrollment  is  with- 
out respect  to  church  affiliation. 

V.    OTHER  EXPEEIMENTS 

In  many  places  classes  are  conducted  under  the 
auspices  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  for  boys  and  under  the 
Y.  W.  C.  A.  for  girls;  usually  these  have  been 
for  high  school  students  and  are  without  ref- 
erence to  school  training.  The  classes  meet  after 
the  school,  engage  the  boys  and  girls  in  leader- 
ship and  follow  simple  biblical  courses.  Two  new 
tendencies  now  appear;  the  organization  is  pro- 
moting, here  and  there,  classes  for  the  upper 

138 


THE  WEEK-DAY  SCHOOL 

grades  of  the  elementary  school,  and  the  cnrricu- 
lum  includes  the  study  of  religious  problems  of 
modern  conduct  and  duty. 

^^Eeligious  Day  schools"  have  been  held  be- 
fore the  public  school  sessions  in  a  number  of 
communities.  At  Eavenswood,  HI.,  a  suburb  of 
Chicago,  the  classes  were  highly  successful.  The 
hour  was  early,  but  children  attended  with  regu- 
larity. The  greater  part  of  the  time  was  spent  in 
worship ;  but  this  may  be  just  as  valuable  a  means 
of  religious  education  as  direct  instruction  in 
classes  would  be. 

At  Elgin,  111.,  two  schools  of  an  experimental 
nature  were  conducted  recently  on  Saturday  af- 
ternoons, each  school  being  equipped  with  a  full 
staff  of  paid  teachers  and  supervisors.  The  term 
was  eight  weeks  in  length.  Each  school  had  two 
sessions  of  three  hours  each,  morning  and  after- 
noon, every  Saturday.  Of  course,  attendance  was 
purely  voluntary.  And  yet,  with  such  a  heavy 
schedule,  on  the  recreation  day,  there  were  139 
enrolled  in  one  school  and  142  in  the  other;  the 
attendance  showed  an  average  of  92  per  cent  in 
one  school  and  89  per  cent  in  the  other. 

The  week-end  schools  will  seem  to  many  to  of- 
fer either  a  comparatively  easy  solution  of  the 
problem  or,  in  other  instances,  a  ready  means  of 
experimentation.  In  one  comparatively  small 
church  in  a  Western  state  the  pastor  tried  the 
Friday  afternoon  class  as  an  experiment,  inviting 
the  lower  four  grades  at  their  hour  of  dismissal, 
and  the  upper  grades  at  their  hour,  which  came 
forty-five  minutes  later.     He  was  surprised  to 

139 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

have  his  class  accommodations  crowded  and,  still 
more,  to  have  the  attendance  keep  up  through  the 
winter. 

Some  other  plans  of  week-day  instruction  may 
be  briefly  mentioned:  First,  the  Community  Sum- 
mer School  of  Religion,  or  ^'Religious  Day 
School,"  as  it  is  often  called.  These  schools  have 
been  promoted  by  the  Rev.  Howard  Vaughan,  the 
first  being  organized  by  him  at  Elk  Mound,  Wis. 
A  special  organization  exists  to  foster  these 
schools.  These  are  conducted  on  very  much  the 
same  schedule  as  the  week-day  schools  through  a 
part  of  the  summer  recess.  Expert  teachers  are 
employed  and  the  school  is  maintained  by  an  in- 
terested group  in  the  community.  The  work  is 
graded  with  emphasis  on  story-telling. 

The  Daily  Vacation  religious  schools,  promoted 
originally  in  the  congested  district,  have  the  pos- 
sibiHty  of  adaptation  to  any  community,  offering 
regular  school  experience  in  which  religious  in- 
struction predominates  through  the  summer  vaca- 
tion. Their  work  is  now  being  closely  correlated 
to  that  of  the  churches,  and  the  general  promo- 
tion of  the  plan  is  in  the  hands  of  the  church 
boards. 


VI.    ACCEEDITED  BIBLE  STUDY 

The  plans  of  week-day  instruction  in  religion 
which  have  been  described  above  have  been,  al- 
most universally,  designed  for  children  of  the 
elementary  grades.  Yet  the  interest  in  the  work 
of  this  kind  has  been  greatly  stimulated  by  cer- 

140 


THE  WEEK-DAY  SCHOOL 

tain  practical  plans  which  have  been  carried  out 
by  educators  interested  in  the  instruction  of 
students  of  the  high  school  grades. 

The  late  Eev.  D.  D.  Forward,  then  in  Greely, 
Colorado,  and  Prof.  Vernon  P.  Squires,  of  the 
state  University  of  North  Dakota,  both  worked 
out,  independently,  plans  by  which  high  school 
students  might  receive  credit  in  course  for  work 
of  a  satisfactory  academic  grade  carried  on  in 
their  church  school.  Their  plans  have  been  tried 
in  practically  every  state  in  the  Union,  they  have 
been  improved  and  modified  and  have  been  the 
subject  of  earnest  study  and  hearty  cooperation 
on  the  part  of  public  educators.  Two  types  of 
work  now  stand  out  distinctively;  in  both  the 
underlying  idea  is  the  same,  that  high  school 
students  shall  receive  their  biblical  instruction  in 
the  churches  during  their  high  school  course.  The 
first  plan  provides  that  the  work  shall  be  standard- 
ized and  its  academic  worth  maintained  by  re- 
quirements as  to  the  professional  abilities  of  the 
Bible  teachers  in  the  church  school,  qualities  of 
instruction,  equipment  and  suitability  of  class 
room  and  content  of  the  course  of  study ;  these  are 
the  classes  which,  on  the  whole,  follow  the  Colo- 
rado plan.  The  other  type  requires  a  certain 
number  of  hours  of  recitation  work,  a  certain 
number  of  hours  of  home  study,  a  final  examina- 
tion, and  the  work  is  based  on  a  syllabus  of  study ; 
this,  in  general,  is  the  North  Dakota  plan.  Both 
plans  are  widely  used  in  many  states,  notably  in 
Iowa,  Oregon,  Indiana  and  Illinois.  They  have 
received  valuable  cooperation  from  the  state  or- 

141 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

ganizations  of  public  school  teachers  and  general 
educators. 

The  high  school  credit  plan  usually  provides  to 
give  for  each  year — forty  weeks — of  satisfactory 
work  in  the  church-school  course  a  credit,  usually 
of  one-fourth  of  a  unit,  on  the  student's  high 
school  work,  so  that  he  can  secure  one  entire  credit 
by  four  years '  work.  Some  provide  work  so  that 
two  whole  credits  may  be  earned.  So  far,  practi- 
cally all  the  courses  are  purely  biblical. 

In  some  places  it  has  been  proposed  to  adapt 
the  high  school  credit  plan  to  elementary  school 
children.  The  experiment  is  under  way,  or  has 
been  tried,  in  Oregon,  Montana,  Oklahoma,  Ala- 
bama and  Washington.  It  is  predicated  on  the 
idea  that  advancement  in  the  elementary  grades 
is  based  on  credit.  But  this  is  not  the  custom  in 
many  schools  today.  The  principal  advantage 
which  would  come  out  of  the  high  school  plan 
would  be  a  sense  of  unity  between  the  day-school 
work  and  the  church-school  work  and,  possibly, 
an  added  seriousness  and  dignity  in  biblical 
study. 

Vn.    PEINCIPLES  OF  WORK 

It  may  be  worth  while  to  consider  a  few  prin- 
ciples with  references  to  any  plans  of  week-day 
instruction  in  religion  and  certain  conditions 
which  seem  to  be  essential  to  success.  The  prin- 
ciple of  entire  independence  of  religious  instruc- 
tion from  the  state,  from  the  taxing  power,  and 
therefore  from  the  public  schools  should  be  main- 

142 


THE  WEEK-DAY  SCHOOL 

tained.  It  t\^11  be  noticed  that  none  of  the  ex- 
amples cited  depend  on  the  power  of  the  state  or 
the  public  schools,  that  none  of  them  are  by  the 
authority  of  the  schools;  they  do  not  use  the 
school  building,  its  money,  its  staff  or  its  civil 
power.  Even  in  Gary,  where  there  seems  to  be 
coordination,  the  church  schools  and  the  public 
schools  have  no  official  relations  in  any  degree. 

This  independence  does  not  involve  the  separa- 
tion of  the  school  teachers  and  superintendents 
from  this  work,  except  in  their  official  capacities ; 
as  private  citizens  they  may  encourage  and  aid 
this  work  precisely  as  they  would  work  with  the 
churches  in  which  they  are  interested.  But  the 
coercive  powers  of  their  official  positions  must 
never  be  used  for  the  religious  schools. 

The  next  principle  would  be  that  if  we  ask  for 
a  part  of  the  child's  week-day  program,  we  must 
make  good  with  it,  the  work  must  be  of  the  high- 
est possible  educational  and  religious  quality. 
The  week-day  school  of  religion  has  to  do  two 
things:  it  must  be  educational  and  it  must  be 
religious.  It  fails  altogether  if  it  lacks  either  of 
these  qualities. 

Success  depends  on  more  than  enthusiasm.  One 
had  better  wait  until  the  equipment  can  be  se- 
cured, schedules  arranged  and  workers  secured 
rather  than  to  attempt  this  work  in  a  half-hearted, 
inadequate  manner.  A  failure  in  a  new  field  like 
this  will  set  back  the  possibility  of  worth-while 
work.  One  must  remember  that  educational  work 
requires  a  specialized  kind  of  knowledge ;  it  does 
not  follow  that  because  a  man  is  a  good  preachet 

143 


3:he  school  in  the  modeen  chubch 

the  Lord  lias  endowed  him  with  the  educational 
specialized  knowledge  that  others  have  had  to 
acquire  with  long  and  painful  effort.  The  pastor 
must  be  willing  to  be  a  learner  before  he  begins 
on  this  new  kind  of  work.  It  would  be  more  than 
a  pity,  it  would  be  a  tragedy,  if  he  should,  by 
blundering,  ignorant  methods,  even  with  the  best 
of  intentions,  spoil  the  beginnings  of  a  work  so 
important  as  this. 

Week-day  instruction  will  take  money.  If  the 
Sunday  school  has  been  worth  anything  to  the 
church,  then  doubling  the  working  capacity  of  the 
school  by  week-day  sessions  ought  to  double  its 
worth  to  the  church,  and  that  ought  to  be  worth 
a  good  deal  of  money.  But  that  is  not  the  main 
consideration;  if  we  intend  to  give  the  child  his 
rightful  religious  heritage  and  training,  we  must 
be  willing  to  give  more  than  words  and  wishes; 
we  must  be  willing  to  pay  all  that  a  work  so  im- 
portant needs. 

Note:  A  full  report  of  the  New  York  plan  will  be  found  in  Re- 
ligious Education  for  June,  1919;  reports  of  the  Gary  plan  are 
also   published   la   this   magazine. 


144 


CHAPTER  XI 
THE  SCHOOL  AND  PLAY 

The  lathers  would  shake  their  heads  at  some  of 
the  features  of  the  new  Sunday  school,  prohably 
most  of  all  at  its  attitude  toward  play  and  recrea- 
tion. It  has  ceased  to  expect  a  child  to  be  as 
solemn  as  an  undertaker,  even  on  Sunday,  and  it 
has  taken  a  positive  attitude  encouraging  play 
and  directing  and  providing  recreation  through 
the  week.  Modem  education  has  changed  the  at- 
titude of  the  church  and  it  has  effected  this  chiefly 
by  what  it  has  been  able  to  do  with  and  for  little 
children  in  the  kindergartens  and  primary  depart- 
ments. The  interest  of  the  school  in  play  and 
recreation  is  based  on  the  fact  that  these  are  the 
most  normal  activities  of  a  child's  life  and  they 
are  the  ones  in  which  he  most  freely  realizes  his 
ideals.  Play  is  a  child's  idealization  of  experi- 
ence. He  plays  that  he  is  what  he  wishes  to  be. 
Even  formal  plays  have  this  characteristic;  they 
represent  some  situation  that  is  ideal  or  that 
children,  in  their  play,  idealize.  Team  plays  are 
also  experiences  in  ideal  social  relations.  No- 
where is  the  idea  and  mode  of  cooperation  better 
expressed,  nowhere  can  one  more  freely  and  help- 
fully sacrifice  himself,  and  in  few  occupations 

145 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

beside  are  there  like  opportunities  for  the  aban- 
don of  entire  self-forgetting. 

All  this  means  that  play  is  a  means  of  personal 
development  and  of  social  training.  It  is  in  it- 
self a  means  of  moral  and  spiritual  training. 
Therefore,  while  it  is  true  that  play  and  recrea- 
tion are  highly  attractive  to  children,  the  motive 
for  using  them,  for  providing  for  them,  is  not 
that  children  may  be  won  to  the  school  through 
these  attractions,  but  that  they  may  be  trained 
through  them. 

Whatever  the  school  does  by  way  of  provision 
for  this  free  life  of  play  ought  to  be  well  done, 
under  intelligent  direction,  and  as  a  part  of  the 
school's  program.  It  ought  to  be  made  the  espe- 
cial resiDonsibility  of  certain  persons,  a  committee 
or  a  small  group  of  capable  men  and  women.  The 
recreational  needs  of  youth  seem  to  afford  just 
the  opportunities  for  service  for  which  men  have 
been  sighing  in  the  adult  Bible  class.  They  would 
find  joy  for  themselves,  discipline  for  themselves 
and  a  field  of  service  in  planning  and  immediately 
directing  all  that  may,  for  convenience  sake,  be 
grouped  under  the  '^Athletic  Work''  of  the 
school. 

ATHLETICS   OR  PLAY? 

There  has  been  a  tendency  to  use  the  phrase 
^^ athletics"  for  the  program  of  directed  play  in 
the  church.  This  is  rather  unfortunate,  for  ath- 
letics usually  implies  a  formal  scheme  of  exercises 
for  the  body,  or  may  have  the  wider  meaning  of 
intensively  cultivated  special  physical  abilities. 

146 


THE  SCHOOL  AND  PLAY 

The  work  in  which  the  chnrch  leads  the  child 
should  be  more  free  and  spontaneous  than  gym- 
nasium drills  and  more  simple  and  inclusive  than 
high  school  or  college  athletics.  The  principal 
purpose  should  be  the  encouragement  of  forms  of 
play  which  will  develop  team  cooperation,  will  af- 
ford the  joy  of  free  expression  and  exercise  and 
will  develop  physical  health,  strength  and  beauty. 
Xo  term  seems  wholly  satisfactory;  play  appears 
to  limit  the  scope  and  is  likely  to  be  attractive  only 
to  children;  recreation  is  a  less  common  word 
often  implying  an  elaborate  plan.  Perhaps  it  is 
best  to  use  both  terms  in  the  church  so  as  to  con- 
vey both  to  children  and  adults  the  comprehen- 
siveness of  the  general  plan. 

^^Vhatever  the  phrase  may  be  the  plan  should 
include  under  one  head  all  physical  training  and 
the  direction  of  play  and  recreational  activities. 
It  should  provide  for  the  use  of  persons  familiar 
with  the  modem  methods  of  play  to  direct  all  the 
range  of  those  church  enterprises  that  are  usually 
so  puzzling  to  the  pastor  and  the  church  school 
workers.  Churches  have  installed  expjensive  gym- 
nasium plants,  swimming  pools,  and  lockers ;  they 
have  organized  ball  teams,  and  a  number  have  pro- 
fessional workers  specially  trained  to  direct  these 
activities.  But  there  remains  over  all  such  work 
a  rather  thick  cloud  of  uncertainty  as  to  its  value, 
streaked  with  banks  of  suspicion  here  and  there. 

"We  all  know  that  something  must  be  done  for 
our  youth;  we  have  learned  that  play  is  a  real 
part  of  their  lives,  and  so  today  many  a  church  in 
village  and   small  town  is   either  trving  to   do 

147 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

sometlimg  in  directed  athletics  or  is  wishing  it 
could  have  a  gymnasium  or  something  of  the 
kind. 

It  is  well,  first,  to  realize  that  we  are  not  alone 
in  an  interest  in  this  matter.  Indeed,  the  interest 
of  the  church  in  education  through  physical  train- 
ing has  developed  slowly  and  long  after  other 
agencies  have  been  in  the  field.  Because  of  this 
awakened  interest  outside,  thejre  may  be  com- 
munities, though  they  certainly  are  but  few,  in 
which  there  remains  nothing  for  the  church  to  do 
directly.  In  such  cases  it  is  wrong  to  waste  energy 
in  duplicating  forms  of  ministry,  in  providing 
overlapping  and  wasteful  competition.  The  whole 
work  is  so  great  and  the  issues  so  grave  that  we 
dare  not  waste  energies  even  for  the  sake  of 
glorifying  our  own  institutions. 

But  even  where  the  community  has  other  agen- 
cies doing  good  work  in  physical  training  for  all 
its  boys  and  all  its  girls,  the  responsibility  of  the 
church  in  this  field  does  not  cease.  The  important 
point  is  not  whether  we  have  a  gymnasium  or 
whether  we  have  this  or  the  other  advertising 
feature  of  physical  work  or  organization,  but 
whether  the  work  is  being  done  and  we  are  doing 
our  share  toward  its  full  accomplishment. 

THE  GYMNASIUM  QUESTION 

**If  we  could  only  have  a  gymnasium  for  the 
boys,  our  problem  would  be  solved."  More  than 
one  pastor  has  said  something  very  like  that. 
And  when  the  good  brother  hears  that  the  church 

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THE  SCHOOL  AND  PLAY 

over  at  B — ^town  has  been  able  to  build  a  special 
plant  for  the  recreational  activities  of  young  peo- 
ple, lie  liberates  a  sigh  of  intense  longing;  when 
he  looks  over  the  plans  and  pictures  of  such  build- 
ings, his  desire  and  envy,  happily  innocent  and 
free  from  covetousness,  are  none  the  less  ardu- 
ous. Now  the  question  is:  Is  he  justified  in  the 
assumption  that  a  gymnasium  would  be  such  a 
highly  valuable  aid,  so  nearly  a  panacea  f  Or,  bet- 
ter, is  the  gymnasium,  as  he  has  seen  it  over  at 
B — town,  just  the  best  provision  his  church  can 
have  for  her  young  people? 

You  cannot  think  very  far  into  the  work  of  the 
Sunday  school  without  running  into  this  question. 
All  serious  plans  for  the  work  of  the  Church  for 
youth  must  face  it.  If  young  people  are  to  grow 
as  Christian  persons,  they  must  grow  all  over. 
The  body  must  be  trained,  educated  in  the 
spirit  of  Jesus,  to  become  the  servant  and 
instrument  of  the  will  of  God.  Nor  does  this 
physical  work  minister  to  the  body  alone;  it  de- 
velops the  whole  person  by  the  disciplines  and 
joys  of  the  body.  It  seeks  to  insure  control  of 
conduct,  love  of  noble  ideals,  willing  service,  so- 
cial cooperation,  and  the  development  of  the  whole 
self  on  a  high  level. 

There  can  be  no  other  valid  reason  for  any 
Church  planning  for  physical  training.  It  is  true 
that  other  reasons  are  operative,  but  they  are 
bound  to  lead  to  disappointment.  Many,  con- 
sciously or  unconsciously,  argue  in  this  way :  Boys 
and  girls  will  play ;  they  cannot  be  cured  of  it.  The 
boys,  at  least,  love  sports  and  athletic  contests ;  if 

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THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODEEN  CHURCH 

we  yield  to  their  inclinations  and  provide  the 
facilities  for  gymnastic  and  athletic  work,  we  may 
get  hold  of  them  and  get  them  interested  in  the 
Church.  To  put  it  a  little  more  precisely,  we  will 
bait  our  Church-membership  hook  with  a  gym- 
nasium or  with  athletic  sports.  Did  you  ever  see 
any  fish  stay  on  the  hook  of  his  own  free  will? 
Our  modern  young  fish  are  wise  and  wary.  If 
you  are  only  baiting  a  hook,  they  will  nibble  away 
at  the  bait  for  a  while;  they  will  get  as  far  as 
the  gymnasium,  but  no  farther ;  they  will  go  ^^fifty- 
fifty"  with  you;  you  keep  the  hook,  and  they  keep 
the  bait. 

A  study  of  the  gymnasium  problem  in  Churches 
in  every  state  persuades  one  that  the  most  com- 
mon cause  of  either  success  or  failure  lies  in  the 
matter  of  the  actually  operative  reason  for 
existence.  You  may  call  them  what  you  will — ^play 
facilities,  athletic,  recreational — ^the  big  question 
is:  Why  do  you  have  them!  Unless  you  can  an- 
swer that  in  plain  terms  that  relate  the  work  to 
the  real  program  of  the  school,  as  part  of  the 
work  of  the  Church  engaged  in  growing  youth 
toward  godlikeness,  it  were  better  that  you  left 
the  work  of  amusing  the  young  to  others.  Use 
them  as  a  bait,  and  you  will  find  the  expected 
process  reversed;  the  fish  will  pull  you  into  the 
stream. 

This  is  a  matter  of  interest  to  the  small  school 
as  truly  as  to  the  large.  Both  deal  with  youth  of 
the  same  period  and  the  same  inclinations  and 
needs ;  both  have  the  same  purpose  and  program. 
The  physical  program  of  the  Church's  educational 

150 


THE  SCHOOL  AND  PLAY 

work  does  not  grow  out  of  the  congested  city  life 
alone;  in  fact,  today  the  np-to-date  city  is  likely 
to  provide  better  facilities  for  physical  training, 
so  far  as  the  formal  kind  goes,  than  the  open 
country.  The  program  belongs  to  the  Church 
everywhere  because  we  have  the  work  of  taking 
the  whole  of  lives  and  leading  them  Godward.  If 
the  direction  and  development  of  play,  the  train- 
ing of  the  body,  the  experience  of  happy  social 
contacts  and  cooperation  in  sports  and  games,  the 
development  of  a  sound  and  efficient  body  that 
obeys  the  will  and  serves  ideal  ends  is  part  of  the 
making  of  a  whole  man,  we  can  afford  neither 
to  treat  the  process  as  a  device  to  some  other  end 
nor  to  ignore  its  possibilities. 

THE  PERSPECTIVE  OF  PURPOSE 

The  Church  needs  to  see  the  place  of  physical 
education  in  the  whole  program  of  growing  the 
full  person,  to  cease  to  think  of  it  as  a  conces- 
sion to  the  playing  weakness  of  the  child,  as  a 
mere  fad  of  the  times  or  as  a  bribe  to  catch  youth. 

What,  then,  should  we  do?  First,  help  our 
people  to  understand  what  physical  training  means 
in  the  program  of  education  today.  Perhaps  we 
will  have  to  help  ourselves  to  know  this  first.  It 
means  that,  since  most  people  have  bodies,  and 
since  the  higher  life  functions  through  this  physi- 
cal, we  seek  to  follow  nature  ^s  laws,  the  divine 
laws,  in  the  orderly  development  of  all  the  physi- 
cal powers  in  their  relation  to  the  person  who 
feels  and  thinks  and  wills  and  acts;  and  we  find 

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THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

that  whenever  we  follow  these  laws  we  are  so  in 
harmony  with  the  growing  young  lives  that  they 
delight  in  what  is  being  done.  Youth  plays  be- 
cause it  is  learning  to  live. 

Then  we  must  seek  to  discover  what  are  the 
peculiar  responsibilities  of  the  Church  in  rela- 
tion to  physical  training,  and  how  these  are  re- 
lated to  the  functions  of  the  family  and  the  school. 
We  may  well  try  to  develop  in  our  communities 
the  different  responsibilities  and  try  to  secure  a 
coordinated  program  in  which  each  will  bear  its 
part. 

For  the  church  any  work  of  physical  training, 
whether  it  be  a  gymnasium,  athletic  club,  or  play 
provision,  must  be  under  a  purposeful  program. 
At  present  it  is  something  we  do  because  we  think 
it  will  pay,  because  it  seems  to  be  popular.  Com- 
monly, it  is  without  conscious  purpose  toward  the 
great  plan  of  the  Church  to  grow  people  into 
Christian  character  and  toward  usefulness  in 
God's  society.  Many  a  fine  plant  represents  a 
sad  waste  of  money  because  no  one  has  any  real 
religious  plan  for  its  use.  A  gymnasium  is  not 
a  means  of  grace  unless  it  be  a  part  of  the  plan  of 
grace.  It  is  not  strange  that,  contrasted  with  the 
innocent  envy  of  those  who  have  them  not,  there 
is  the  earnest  desire  of  some  to  be  rid  of  them. 
Unless  you  know  exactly  what  you  are  doing,  you 
are  likely  to  find  yourself  doing  things  you  would 
rather  not  know.  It  may  seem  to  be  pleasant  to 
boast  that  you  have  a  fine  gymnasium  or  splendid 
Bible  class  athletic  clubs ;  but  how  will  you  look 
when  One  comes  seeking  for  fruit  on  these  trees? 

152 


THE  SCHOOL  AND  PLAY 

What  did  you  plant  them  for,  and  what  fruit  do 
you  expect? 

Then,  too,  by  way  of  further  general  considera- 
tions, we  have  to  determine  our  plans  for  work 
and  our  tools  by  the  conditions  in  which  we  work, 
by  the  type  of  community  life  and  the  special 
needs  of  youth  there.  While  we  must  profit  by 
the  experience  of  other  places,  all  such  experi- 
ence must  be  modified  by  the  facts  in  your  own 
field.  There  are  no  ready-made,  hand-me-down 
schemes ;  what  you  need  does  not  come  by  whole- 
sale. It  will  be  much  better  to  call  in,  even  at 
some  expense,  some  trained  person,  one  who  is 
really  something  of  an  expert,  who  can  spend 
several  days  at  least  studying  your  needs  and 
prescribing  for  your  work.  That  may  cost  some 
money,  but  it  is  better  to  spend  a  little  in  getting 
started  right  than  to  waste  a  whole  lot  in  going 
wrong.    This  matter  is  worthy  of  profound  study. 

IN"  THE  VILLAGE  SCHOOL 

Perhaps  the  first  duty  of  the  village  Church  is 
to  find  out  just  what  is  being  done  in  the  direction 
and  use  of  the  physical  and  play  life  of  its  youth. 
Put  down  in  black  and  white  the  results  of  a 
study  of  your  community  in  this  respect.  Analyze 
the  situation  and  discover  whether  the  needs  of 
all,  both  boys  and  girls,  are  being  met;  whether 
the  available  time  of  all  is  being  wisely  used; 
whether  there  are  adequate  facilities  and  wise 
direction ;  and,  above  all,  whether  the  ultimate  ef- 
fect is  toward  right  character — ^whether  the  pres- 

153 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODEEN  CHUECH 

ent  program  fits  into  a  program  of  religious  edu- 
cation. 

Having  carefully  gathered  the  facts,  let  the 
people  know  them.  "We  must  develop  a  church 
intelligence  on  the  place  of  physical  training  for 
youth — not  the  development  of  athletics  nor  the 
winning  of  pennants,  but  the  concept  of  growing 
youth  in  character,  in  right  living  through  direc- 
tion of  play  and  games  and  all  recreation  and 
physical  activity.  Then  we  can  try  to  bring  the 
whole  community  into  planning  for  such  a  pro- 
gram. 

COMMUNITY   PLANS 

In  many  places  we  will  have  to  realize  that  we 
can  do  things  together  that  we  can  never  do 
separately.  We  must  use  as  good  common  sense 
here  as  we  have  used  in  developing  a  general 
school  system.  Well  might  we  all  wait  on  the  Lord 
for  grace  and  sense  enough  to  work  together  to 
control  this  wonderful  play  instinct,  this  vig- 
orous activity  of  youth  so  as  to  grow  our  boys 
and  girls  toward  God.  Might  it  not  be  worth 
while  at  least  to  try,  on  the  basis  of  an  educated 
community  sense  of  responsibility,  some  com- 
mon cooperative,  unified  program  of  play  and 
recreation  for  all  the  churches  of  a  village?  All 
together  could  have  a  trained  worker  giving  di- 
rection to  this  enterprise. 

The  churches  could  work  through  a  Christian 
Association,  if  only  it  would  be  a  clearing  house 
for  them  and  not  an  agency  and  end  in  itself;  if 

154 


THE  SCHOOL  AND  PLAY 

it  would  be  the  real  servant  and  conamon  process 
of  the  churches.  The  failure  to  work  on  such  a 
plan  has  been  not  all  on  either  side;  perhaps 
hitherto  we  have  not  been  ready  for  it.  But  sure- 
ly we  ought  to  be.  In  any  case  the  prime  re- 
sponsibility of  the  Church  lies  here,  to  see  that 
somehow  throughout  the  whole  village  life  play 
and  sport  and  games  make  for  righteousness  and 
are  so  directed  as  to  secure  their  full  religious 
educational  value. 

COOPEKATIOIT 

No  other  place  offers  quite  as  fine  an  oppor- 
tunity to  take  a  forward  step  as  does  the  village. 
The  churches  are  likely  to  be  but  few  in  number; 
the  community  is  commonly  fairly  unified;  there 
are  certain  places  about  which  its  life  centers.  It 
would  be  easy  to  make  one  of  these  centers  the 
common  clearing-house  for  all  directed  physical 
training  conducted  by  the  churches.  Imagine 
something  very  like  the  Y.  M.  C.  A. ;  indeed,  why 
not  the  Association  so  broadened  that  the  play 
and  recreation  of  boys  and  girls,  young  and  old, 
could  all  be  ^^ rounded  up''  here?  It  seems  as 
though  both  the  Association  and  the  churches  are 
missing  a  magnificent  opportunity.  How  much  all 
the  churches  of  a  village  might  do  together 
through  some  one  central  plant !  In  many  places 
the  Y.  W.  C.  A.  is  doing  this  sort  of  work  in  close 
conjunction  with  churches  and  for  girls  and 
women.    Whether  it  shall  be  these  Associations 

155 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

or  some  other  form  it  will  not  long;  be  possible 
for  churches  to  command  community  respect 
while  they  attempt  to  maintain  duplicating,  un- 
necessary plants  which  accomplish  most  efficient- 
ly a  work  that  all  together  could  efficiently  accom- 
plish at  half  the  present  cost.  The  play  program 
is  an  immediately  easy  avenue  on  which  to  begin 
cooperation  and  combination  for  practical  pur- 
poses. There  is  no  divisive  theology  in  play ;  there 
are  no  historic  creeds  to  separate  the  volley-ball 
team  into  debating  groups. 

If  the  churches  of  a  village  could  agree  to- 
gether on  a  program  of  play  for  the  community, 
they  would  not  only  demonstrate  the  possibility 
of  religious  unity,  that  would  not  only  furnish 
their  people  an  experience  that  would  lead  to 
other  forms  of  unity,  but  they  would  be  able  to 
dominate  the  whole  play,  recreation  and  amuse- 
ment situation  in  the  village. 

There  will  still  remain  many  places  in  which 
the  Church  must  make  a  special  provision  for  its 
own  young  people.  Then  be  sure  you  have  a  pro- 
gram and  not  some  advertised  or  popular  specific. 
Specifics  are  bought;  programs  grow.  A  ''physi- 
cal plant"  may  only  be  a  dead  tree,  cumbering 
the  ground.  The  most  common  delusion  is  that 
a  fine  gymnasium,  crowded  with  shining  appa- 
ratus (dumb  bells,  bars,  ladders,  swings,  etc.), 
will  ''turn  the  trick."  And  usually  all  that  splen- 
did outfit  spells  an  expense  so  heavy  that  the  vil- 
lage church  gives  up  before  it  begins. 

Even  in  the  formal  gymnasium  the  present  ten- 
156 


THE  SCHOOL  AND  PLAY 

dency  is  away  from  apparatus  and  toward  free- 
dom for  games  and  play.  Nearly  every  church  can 
get  all  the  best  work  that  is  now  being  done  in 
physical  training  outside  of  any  special  building, 
right  in  its  back  lot,  on  a  playing  ground  or,  in 
bad  weather,  in  a  vacant  hall.  Get  hold  of  that 
young  man  and  that  young  woman  who  have  had 
some  of  this  work  and  give  them  a  chance  to  do 
the  very  thing  they  would  like  to  do  in  guiding 
boys  and  girls  in  physical  development. 

But  the  formal  training  is  a  very  small  part  of 
the  educational  program  in  this  field.  Our  larger 
task  is  to  gather  up,  encourage,  and  direct  the 
spontaneous  recreational  and  play  life.  For  young 
people  playing  together  is  learning  to  live  to- 
gether. At  present  they  live  more  really  in  this 
area  of  experience  than  in  any  other.  We  would 
make  that  living  a  part  of  the  training  in  living 
as  religious  persons.  To  this  end  we  must  know 
how  play  makes  for  character;  we  must  seek  to 
organize  and  direct  play  in  healthful,  happy  ways, 
simply  dropping  out  the  debasing  and  developing 
the  helpful.  To  accomplish  such  an  end  the  vil- 
lage church  needs  more  than  sermons  on  ^^ques- 
tionable amusements"  and  more  than  a  sporadic 
Bible  class  baseball  team;  it  needs  a  group  of  men 
and  women  who  give  themselves  to  seeing  that 
all  the  boys  and  girls  have  the  chance  to  play,  have 
time  and  places,  and  have  informal  direction  in 
forms  of  play  that  develop  body  and  character. 
That  involves  not  so  much  plant  and  machinery 
as  planning  and  people. 

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THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

EECKEATION  IN  THE  RUKAL.  SCHOOL 

Many  assume  that  there  is  no  problem  as  to 
rcreation  in  the  country  church  because  the  young 
people  in  the  open  areas  have  all  the  athletic  train- 
ing they  need  in  their  every-day  experience.  It 
would  seem  that  when  a  boy  gets  up  before  day- 
light to  do  the  chores,  walks  a  few  miles  to  school, 
and  then  loads  up  the  crops  or  feeds  the  stock 
after  school,  he  has  had  about  all  the  athletics 
he  desires. 

Just  you  give  the  country  boy  a  chance  with  a 
ball-club,  even  if  he  has  done  the  chores,  and  see 
whether  he  can  stand  any  more  athletics !  More- 
over, the  fact  is,  that  for  a  very  large  proportion 
of  the  country  boys  and  girls  the  days  of  exces- 
sive, wearying  chores  are  past — would  that  a  rea- 
sonable program  of  chores  might  return  for  all 
children!  Not  many  of  them  are  getting  up  be- 
fore daylight;  at  least  a  good  many  of  them  are 
riding  to  the  country  high  school  in  automobiles. 
They  turn  in  many  directions  for  guidance  in  the 
recreational  life.  They  are  as  hungry  for  play 
as  the  city  boy  or  girl.  Life  in  the  open  may  be- 
come as  monotonous  and  as  dangerous  to  body 
and  moral  character  as  life  in  the  city. 

The  assumption  that  the  city  is  the  home  of 
vice  and  the  country  the  garden  of  virtue  is  not 
altogether  supported  by  observed  facts.  There 
is  just  as  much  need  for  the  discipline  of  the 
physical  controls,  for  the  training  and  mastery 
of  the  body  which  athletics  should  give  in  the 

158 


THE  SCHOOL  AND  PLAY 

country  as  in  the  city.  Hedge-rows  do  not  change 
human  nature. 

What,  then,  shall  we  do  for  boys  and  girls  in 
the  country  church?  First,  find  out  what  they 
need.  This  is  discovered  by  study  in  two  direc- 
tions: by  a  survey  of  the  needs  of  young  people 
and  by  a  survey  of  the  conditions  and  provisions 
for  their  needs  in  the  community.  The  first  in- 
volves much  more  than  can  be  given  even  in  out- 
line here,  and  yet  it  is  fundamental  to  any  wise 
recreational  work.  Pastors  and  leaders  must 
undertake  it.  They  will  find  it  helpful  to  asso- 
ciate others  with  them  in  this  study.  Why  not  tell 
some  of  your  brightest  men,  or  women,  too,  what 
you  are  doing?  Get  them  around  you  to  study  the 
physical  needs  of  young  people.  Two  or  a  dozen 
together  thus  learning  the  basic  principles  will 
not  only  make  better  and  pleasanter  progress, 
they  will  be  preparing  that  supporting  body  which 
the  pastor  or  leader  will  later  need. 

The  survey  of  the  community  will  discover  just 
what  is  now  being  done,  how  worthily  it  is  done, 
what  are  the  fixed  programs  of  young  people's 
lives,  what  are  the  hindrances  and  menaces  and 
what  are  the  cooperating  forces  and  persons.  Do 
not  try  to  establish  a  program  except  as  it  is  re- 
lated to  these  facts. 


DOING   THE   POSSIBLE   NEXT   THINGS 

What  next?  Why  the  next  possible  thing.  Do 
the  simple  piece  of  work  that  is  possible  under 
your  ascertained  program.     Do  not  wait  for  an 

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THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

elaborate  equipment.  It  is  the  cup  of  cold  water 
that  counts ;  if  you  wait  for  a  filtration  plant  and 
a  serving  tray  the  sufferer  may  die  in  the  mean- 
time. Especially  in  providing  for  the  physical 
training  of  youth  we  will  find  that  to  begin  with 
the  immediate  possibility,  if  it  is  a  sane  one,  is  to 
gather  your  group  about  you,  to  discover  your 
leaders  and  to  begin  that  spontaneous  group  or- 
ganization which  will  be  the  principal  factor  in 
carrying  your  work  forward. 

Perhaps  the  immediate  thing  is  a  ball  team. 
That  is  good  in  so  far  as  it  means  real  play  for 
all;  it  will  not  help  much,  perhaps  it  will  hinder, 
if  it  means  a  few  star  performers  doing  stunts 
for  the  glory  of  the  place.  But  that  of  which  ball 
games  are  a  part  will  be  your  clue  to  really  help- 
ful athletic  work,  that  is  PLAY.  Organized  su- 
pervised play  is  the  great  opportunity  for  physi- 
cal direction  and  moral,  religious  training.  A 
gymnasium  is  only  a  mechanism  for  organizing 
the  kinds  of  play  possible  to  very  large  numbers 
and  where  the  free  games  are  impossible.  The 
tendency  is  to  take  the  trappings  of  formal  exer- 
cises out  of  the  gymnasiums  and  to  use  them  more 
for  play. 

You  have  no  special  building ;  but  you  have  the 
church  yard,  and  the  open  road  and  the  level 
fields.  Now  divide  your  young  people  up  into 
grades  according  to  the  plays  and  groups  of 
plays  or  games  natural  to  each  group.  Then  dis- 
cover persons  able  to  organize  these  groups  and 
direct  their  play.  Usually  you  cannot  count  on 
your  habitual  office-holders  for  this  sort  of  work. 

160 


THE  SCHOOL  AND  PLAY 

Get  your  imagination  unlimbered  and  think  of 
the  young  men  and  women  who  have  not  found  a 
niche  of  service  in  the  Sunday  school  and  who 
would  really  enjoy  such  work  as  this.  All  these 
leaders  should  be  led.  Led  of  God  first,  for  char- 
acter is  their  largest  teaching  potency.  Then  led 
by  the  common  purpose  of  the  school.  They  should 
be  organized  into  an  athletic  group  which  would 
meet  regularly  to  agree  upon  its  plans  and  to 
confer  on  its  work.  Be  sure  they  have  a  program 
to  follow,  that  they  are  doing  more  than  amusing 
youngsters,  killing  time  for  them.  They  must 
have  a  consciousness  of  definitely  seeking  the  re- 
ligious education  of  youth  through  the  disciplines 
and  controls  of  his  bodily  life. 

In  the  country,  as  in  the  city,  too,  the  essential 
things  are  not  buildings  or  apparatus,  but  vision 
of  purpose  and  ability  to  discover  and  direct  lead- 
ers. It  is  not  worth  while  trying  athletic  work 
unless  you  see  it  as  part  of  religious  education, 
its  program  an  integral  part  of  the  whole  work  of 
the  church  in  growing  Christian  persons. 

When  you  get  that  vision  you  will  find,  through 
games,  hikes,  stunts,  drills,  pageants,  exercises 
and  all  that  boys  and  girls  love  to  do,  the  chance 
to  secure  their  growth  in  wisdom  and  stature  and 
in  favor  with  God  and  man. 


161 


CHAPTER  XII 
ENGAGING  THE  CHILD'S  ACTIVE  POWERS 

I.     A   PROGKAM  OF   ACTIVITY 

Not  only  does  the  modern  school  encourage  and 
direct  the  child's  play  but,  for  the  same  reasons 
that  it  sees  in  play  a  means  of  religious  training, 
it  encourages  and  directs  the  activity  of  the  child 
in  the  school.  The  manner  in  which  the  school 
now  accepts  as  normal  the  development  of  activity 
suggests  the  degree  to  which  this  school  has 
changed  from  the  time  when  the  chief  end  of  a 
school  seemed  to  be  the  achieving  of  distinction 
as  an  institution  in  which  activity  never  was  per- 
mitted. That  school  endeavored,  Sunday  after 
Sunday,  to  pass  the  ^^ pin-drop"  test.  Its  atti- 
tude was  that  activity  had  nothing  to  do  with  re- 
ligion; everything  in  that  reahn  had  been  done 
long  ago ;  even  morality  might  be  dangerous  with 
its  tendency  to  substitute  works  for  faith.  To 
put  religion  into  action  might  promote  pride  in 
the  flesh.  The  only  exception  was  that  activity 
might  be  a  means  of  forestalling  the  devil  who 
was  always  active,  therefore  one  must  give  the 
child  a  task  so  that  his  hands  might  not  be  idle. 
But  if  a  child  could  be  found  who  did  not  need  a 

162 


THE  CHILD'S  ACTIVE  POWEES 

pre-empting  task  lie  was  a  saint  fit  for  a  Sunday- 
school  book. 

Somehow  the  program  of  inactivity  never  suc- 
ceeded until  people  grew  up  and  began  to  die. 
Especially  it  failed  with  children.  Activity  is  as 
necessary  to  them  as  food^  it  is  the  means  by 
which  they  learn  and  gain  control  of  their  pow- 
ers. Modern  education  accepts  the  activity  of 
the  child  as  the  means  by  which  schooling  be- 
comes a  real  experience  to  him.  It  holds  that 
nothing  is  known  until  in  some  sense  it  is  ex- 
perienced, until  it  is  woven  up  into  the  real  facts 
of  life.  It  trains  in  the  art  of  social  living  by 
the  experience  of  cooperative  activities.  This  is 
the  new  basis  on  which  the  modern  Sunday  school 
develops  its  plans  of  activities.  They  are  not  only 
means  of  learning  through  the  muscles,  not  alone 
means  of  expressing  that  which  is  learned;  they 
are  the  means  by  which  children  really  live  a  life, 
by  which  they  experience  ideals  in  action. 

n.    CHUECH   WOEK   AlTD   EXPEESSIONAL    rEAINIlTG 

Much  that  is  being  said  about  expressional  ac- 
tivities seems  to  grow  out  of  very  mechanical 
concepts ;  much  that  is  being  attempted  or  planned 
in  training  for  church-service  has  an  equally  me- 
chanical basis.  In  the  first  case  activities  are  de- 
signed and  classified  as  series  of  things  to  be 
done,  they  are  often  trivial  and  even  more  fre- 
quently they  are  divorced  from  real  religious  mo- 
tives; in  the  other  case  the  purpose  often  Icxiks 
no  further  than  enlisting  otherwise  indolent  per- 

163 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODEEN  CHUECH 

sons  to  do  tlae  work  that  now  weighs  so  heavily 
on  a  few. 

Eightly  conceived  service  in  the  church  has  a 
large  and  useful  place  in  the  program  of  what 
are  called  expressional  activities.  That  place  can 
be  seen,  however,  only  when  we  understand  cer- 
tain general  principles  in  the  religious  training 
of  the  young.  The  fundamental  difficulty  that 
blocks  our  progress  in  enlisting  people  in  church 
work  is  a  failure  to  see  how  such  work  is  related 
to  every  stage  of  religious  education.  The  two 
are  not  connected  because  we  have  so  limited  a 
plan  of  education. 

A  Sunday  school  or  a  church  are  not  things  out- 
side the  pupiPs  life  which  by  extraneous  applica- 
tions do  certain  things  for  him;  on  the  contrary 
they  constitute  a  social  experience  through  which 
he  acquires  the  habits,  the  ideas  and  the  motives 
of  living  in  a  religious  society.  They  are  the 
pupiPs  life  for  the  time  being. 

Now  the  value  of  such  social  training  as  the 
school  and  the  church  afford  depends  on  the  ex- 
tent to  which  one  participates  in  their  life.  The 
experience  of  society  gets  over  to  us  only  as  we 
experience  what  it  experiences,  as  we  do  its  work. 
Social  training  must  include  doing  one's  full  share 
in  social  activity;  it  must  include  active  partici- 
pation in  the  life  of  the  group.  This  is  the  kind 
of  training  that  every  child  needs  in  religious 
living. 

The  child's  training,  or  the  youth's,  in  the  work 
of  the  school  and  the  church  are  not  merely  de- 
signed attempts  to  prepare  him  to  be  useful  as  a 

164 


THE  CHILD'S  ACTIVE  POWEES 

church  officer  in  the  future ;  they  are  an  essential 
part  of  his  experience  of  participating  in  the  fuU 
life  of  his  religious  social  group.  "Whatever  keeps 
these  growing  persons  from  a  share  in  the  actual 
work  of  the  school  and  of  the  church  deprives 
them  of  their  rights.  Somehow  we  must  swing 
the  emphasis  from  the  right  of  the  church  to  be 
sustained  by  voluntary  labors  to  the  other  side, 
the  right  of  all,  especially  the  young,  to  actually 
experience  the  work  of  religion,  to  a  share  in  the 
real  life  of  the  church. 

We  have  a  similar  situation  in  our  families.  In 
some  homes  mistaken  indulgence  shields  children 
from  any  sort  of  domestic  duty ;  in  others  domes- 
tic tasks  are  assigned  to  the  child  as  the  contri- 
butions he  must  make  to  family  support;  but  in 
others,  where  thought  is  given  to  children's  real 
needs,  the  child  is  gradually  admitted  through  the 
experience  of  activity  into  full  social  sharing  of 
family  life.  That  experience  is  the  most  vital, 
helpful  part  of  his  education.  It  trains  him  in 
life  as  self -giving  service ;  it  establishes  habits  of 
social  usefulness;  it  prepares  him  for  his  own 
home-life  later  and  it  makes  real  the  sense  of 
belonging  to  the  family  group. 

On  the  basis  of  church-school  life  as  a  real  so- 
cial experience,  we  must  give  each  member  a 
share  in  the  active  life  of  the  school.  The  same 
principle  will  carry  over  into  all  the  life  of  the 
church.  It  is  a  principle  that  can  only  be  applied 
where  the  school  and  the  church  are  seen  as  a 
religious  society,  and  as  a  society  which  is  re- 
ligious not  in  its  aim  alone,  but  essentially  in  its 

165 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODEEN  CHUECH 

nature.  It  is  religions  because  it  is  seeking  the 
fulness  of  life  for  all,  and  it  is  determined  in  its 
methods  by  the  needs  of  lives,  by  their  ways  of 
growth  and  their  spiritual  possibilities. 

That  means  that  in  order  to  have  real  expres- 
sional  activities  in  the  school  we  shall  think  of  the 
school  as  an  experience  of  life.  The  pupils  will 
not  be  the  submissive  recipients  of  such  instruc- 
tion as  we  design  for  them ;  they  will  be  the  active 
factors  in  an  organized  life.  That  does  not  mean 
that  the  form  of  life  will  be  designed  by  them 
altogether.  It  means  real  democratic  experience 
in  organizing  religious  living. 

in.   TRAINING    IN    DEMOCRACY 

The  first  step  of  participation  will  be  the  child's 
natural  learning  to  live  the  life  of  his  little  group, 
his  class.  At  the  very  beginning,  all  in  the  group 
must  become  accustomed  to  think  of  that  group 
life  in  active  terms.  So  long  as  we  continue  to 
organize  and  conduct  Sunday-school  classes  on 
the  over-head-absolutism,  pupil-passivity  plan,  we 
will  have  adult  church  members  habituated  to 
passivity.    Habit  as  to  participation  begins  early. 

The  younger  classes  of  the  school  have  much 
to  do  with  determining  the  character  of  adult 
church  life.  At  present  many  of  these  classes 
have  no  opportunities  for  social  experience,  no 
chance  for  the  child  to  participate  because,  first, 
their  programs  are  rigidly  set;  no  initiative  is 
encouraged;  second,  their  group  experience  is 
limited  to  a  single  short  period  devoted  to  a  set 

166 


THE  CHILD'S  ACTIVE  POWERS 

program  of  instraction  and,  third,  the  instruc- 
tion has  little,  if  anything,  to  do  with  what  the 
pupil  might  do  as  an  actual  experience  in  the 
group.  The  basic  need,  in  order  to  train  persons 
to  a  life  of  active  participation  in  the  work  of  the 
church  is  early  training  and  experience  in  the 
entire  social  life  of  the  church  group  which  we 
call  a  Sunday-school  class.  That  sort  of  experi- 
ence would  mean  freedom  for  children  to  plan 
more  of  their  own  work  in  the  department,  the  en- 
couragement of  initiative  in  the  group,  developing 
responsibility  on  the  part  of  pupils  for  the  prop- 
erty of  the  group  and  of  the  school,  developing 
ability  to  carry  on  the  necessary  work,  such  as 
care  of  books,  papers,  pictures,  chairs,  provision 
of  flowers  and  decorations. 

The  principle  works  out  with  especial  signifi- 
cance in  the  conduct  of  worship,  where  children 
not  only  select  the  hymns,  but  prepare  their  own 
prayers,  their  class  prayers,  their  orders  of  read- 
ing, singing  and  other  exercises.  This  is  a  type 
of  real  social  experience.  In  the  degree  that  any- 
where the  actual  life  of  the  group  is  self-directed 
activity,  real  voluntary  workers  are  being  trained. 

IV.   THE  PRINCIPI^ES  OF  ACTIVLTY 

But  in  order  to  prepare  a  program  wisely  di- 
recting activities  it  is  necessary  to  understand 
clearly  just  the  function  of  activity  in  the  de- 
velopment of  a  religious  life,  in  realizing  the  pur- 
pose of  the  school ;  it  is  necessary  to  look  into  the 
processes  by  which  we  promote  religious  growth 

167 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

in  persons.  One  speaks  of  growth  in  natural 
terms  without  at  all  losing  sight  of  the  fact  that 
*  ^  it  is  God  that  giveth  the  increase. ' '  Our  concern 
just  here  is  only  with  those  processes  for  which 
we  are  responsible. 

1.  Christian  character  grows  under  social  con- 
ditions. This  is  true  because  that  which  grows  is 
the  life  and  powers  of  a  person,  and  persons  grow 
only  amongst  persons  and  by  personal  influences. 
Social  conditions  for  the  growth  of  the  religious 
life  are  afforded  by  the  church.  Here  character 
is  stimulated  by  being  associated  with  fine,  noble, 
and  elevating  persons.  Persons  grow  by  the  very 
fact  of  belonging  to  and  mingling  with  the  group 
of  those  who  seek  richer  and  more  godly  lives. 
Further,  this  social  group,  the  church,  impresses, 
moves,  and  guides  other  lives  by  many  means,  by 
the  inspirations  of  worship,  by  the  stimulating, 
guiding  teaching  from  the  pulpit,  by  regular  in- 
struction, by  associated  work.  Out  of  the  social 
life  rises  all  effective  instruction.  The  activities 
of  a  church  are  the  means  by  which  its  social 
forces  reach  the  lives  of  its  own  people  and  influ- 
ence them. 

2.  Christian  character  grows  hy  active  re- 
sponse to  its  society.  In  a  society  lives  are 
influenced  only  in  the  degree  that  they  react  to 
whatever  stimulus  is  offered.  Persons  grow  in  a 
church,  not  alone  in  the  degree  that  the  church  is 
active  for  their  good,  but  in  the  degree  that  they 
participate  in  the  active  life  of  the  church. 
Activity  is  simply  life  putting  the  ideal  or  the 

168 


THE  CHILD  ^S  ACTIVE  POWERS 

idea  into  reality,  realizing  it  in  need.  Until  that 
is  done,  ideas  have  no  real  value  to  those  who  hold 
them.  Experience  is  simply  normal  participation 
in  the  life  of  the  social  group  to  which  we  belong. 
Through  that  participation  we  really  share  the 
life  of  the  group,  and  so  receive  life  from  it.  The 
measure  of  the  value  of  church  relations  is  that 
of  reality  through  active  participation.  This  ap- 
plies to  the  life  of  every  part  of  a  church,  to  re- 
lations in  a  church  school  for  children  as  well  as 
to  the  relations  of  adults.  If  the  chilcVs  life  is  to 
grow  in  the  society  of  the  church,  the  child  ynust 
he  offered  normal  ways  of  sharing  that  life 
through  active  participation, 

V.    THE  FIELD  OF  ACTION" 

The  child's  activity,  then,  is  not  some  scheme  of 
occupying  his  energies  to  keep  him  out  of  mis- 
chief; it  is  not  some  device  for  pre-empting  his 
powers  lest  Satan  find  some  mischief  still  for  his 
idle  hands.  It  is  simply  the  child  living  in  the 
full  social  relations  of  his  group,  which  is  usually 
the  church  school  as  a  part  of  the  church.  Here 
activity  will  mean  a  share  in  maintaining  the 
worship,  the  services,  the  group  relationships,  and 
the  full  ministry  of  the  school.  It  will  mean  a 
share  in  carrying  out  the  program  of  the  school, 
as  a  part  of  the  church,  to  grow  Christian  lives 
and  to  cause  conditions  to  prevail  in  the  world 
favorable  to  the  growth  of  such  lives. 

But  all  lives  are  in  real  and  continuous  rela- 
169 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODEEN  CHURCH 

tions  to  a  wider  society  than  that  of  the  church, 
the  society  of  the  world  itself,  and  this  society  is 
tremendonsly  potent  in  developing  character. 
Lives  are  growing  all  the  time  as  they  are  stimu- 
lated by  their  environment.  The  church  school, 
at  its  best,  controls  but  a  very  small  fraction  of  the 
whole  circle  of  a  child  ^s  life.  For  longer  periods, 
and  in  even  more  intimate  relations,  he  lives  at 
home.  For  longer  periods  he  plays  in  playgrounds 
or  on  the  streets.  For  much  longer  periods  he  is 
with  his  school  group  and  under  the  influence  of 
civil  institutions.  All  this  time  he  is  growing, 
and  it  is  exactly  the  same  person  who  is  growing 
in  this  larger  life  of  the  world  as  in  the  life  of  the 
church  school.  Character  is  being  determined  in 
one  as  truly  as  in  the  other. 

The  same  laws  of  life  development  hold  in  the 
life  of  the  every-day  hours  and  experiences  as  hold 
in  the  life  of  the  church.  Character  grows  as  the 
person  participates  in  the  life  of  this  larger  so- 
cial group.  But  the  great  difference  lies  in  the 
fact  that  the  specifically  religious  group  is  organ- 
ized for  the  specific  purpose  of  growing  religious 
character — at  least  it  ought  to  be — and  the  largei? 
group  is  not  commonly  conscious  of  any  such 
dominant  purpose;  frequently  it  seems  to  be 
wholly  unconscious  of  the  fact  that  wherever  lives 
are,  whether  in  school,  home,  street,  factory,  store, 
picture-show,  or  play,  there,  by  their  very  activi- 
ties, character  is  being  determined,  or,  in  other 
words,  souls  are  being  saved  or  lost ;  life  is  grow- 
ing up  toward  God  or  dying  down  away  from  him. 

170 


THE  CHILD'S  ACTIVE  POWERS 


VI.   ACTIVITY  DETEEMINING  ENTIEONMENT 

This  social  whole  of  life  is  like  a  soil  in  which 
souls  grow.  It  is  our  imperative  obligation  to 
make  that  soil  fit  for  souls,  to  make  this  world  the 
kingdom  of  our  Lord  and  his  Christ.  That  comes, 
not  by  wishing  it  were  done,  but  by  working  to  do 
it,  by  praying  with  heart  and  also  with  hand. 
The  need  for  this  work  makes  the  world  the  great 
field  for  religious  activity.  Even  very  young 
people  can  have  a  share  in  this  activity ;  they  must 
have  it  if  they  are  to  live  in  normal  religious  re- 
lations to  their  world.  They  wiU  want  to  do  some- 
thing, not  as  reformers  who  would  set  a  world 
right  so  much  as  those  who,  seeing  the  world  they 
know  as  the  home  in  which  they  live  with  others, 
will  seek  to  make  it  more  like  the  home  of  a 
happy  family,  the  family  of  their  father  God. 
"Whatever  children  are  led  to  do  in  service  for  the 
larger  social  life  must  be  as  natural  as  what  they 
do  in  their  homes,  making  them  happier  and 
brighter  in  love  for  their  brothers  and  sisters. 
Giving  to  social  causes,  participation  in  ^^ relief," 
service  for  the  sick,  or  whatever  it  may  be,  must 
be  not  an  external  ministry  to  others,  a  kind  of 
religious  snobbery,  but  simply  and  naturally  a 
part  of  the  life  of  the  world,  doing  their  share  in 
the  world's  work,  just  as  they  would — or  should 
— do  their  share  in  the  whole  life  of  a  home. 

The  dual  processes  are  working  in  all  this ;  the 
life  is  finding  itself  through  activity,  through  nor- 
mal expression  in  deeds  of  its  dreams  and  ideals, 
and  at  the  same  time  it  is  making  for  itself  and  for 

171 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

all  others  the  Letter  and  more  favorable  environ- 
ment; personal  character  is  growing  under  these 
social  relationships  and  a  world  of  conditions 
favorable  to  the  religious  life  and  society  is  being 
created.  The  very  needs  and  demands  of  life 
call  out  the  activities  which  develop  lives. 

Whatever  forms  of  ^  ^  activities ' '  are  planned  in 
the  program  of  a  church  must  be  tested,  indeed 
must  be  determined,  by  their  natural  growth  out 
of  the  general  program  of  the  church — ^growing 
Christian  people  in  a  Christian  society — and  by 
the  natural  social  needs  of  these  people.  Mere 
schemes  of  activity  will  not  work.  To  have  value 
any  activities  must  be  real,  must  be  a  normal  part 
of  life  itself. 

In  urging  the  provision  of  activities  as  a  part 
of  the  program  of  religious  education  in  a  church 
we  are  not  proposing  anything  new  or  anything 
extraneous  to  the  normal  life  of  a  church.  Rather 
we  are  seeking  to  make  clear  what  is  actually  go- 
ing on  wherever  churches  are  really  discharging 
their  religious  functions.  They  are  grooving  the 
lives  of  active  persons,  and  by  directing  action 
toward  the  realization  of  the  divine  ideal  in  the 
church,  in  world  conditions,  and  in  the  social  or- 
der, are  carrying  forward  the  two  great  processes 
— persons  growing  more  godlike  in  a  world  more 
fully  doing  His  will — toward  the  one  great  aim  of 
the  kingdom  and  family  of  God. 

Vn.   DIRECTING  ACTIVITY 

Accepting  the  principle  of  the  -leading  place  of 
activity  in  the  program  of  the  church  school,  what 

172 


THE  CHILD'S  ACTIVE  POWERS 

steps  should  be  taken  to  develop  and  direct  tlie 
activities  of  children!  Two  things,  at  least,  are 
necessary:  First,  to  develop  in  all  teachers  and 
workers  an  intelligent  appreciation  of  the  func^ 
tion  of  activity.  Second,  to  commit  to  a  special 
group  the  special  study  of  this  subject  so  that 
they  will  develop  opportunities  for  general  activi- 
ties and  special  forms  of  service. 

The  first  method  suggested  is  of  prime  impor- 
tance, for  all  forms  of  activity  must  have  real 
and  natural  connections  with  the  general  life  of 
the  school ;  they  cannot  be  set  off  in  a  department 
by  themselves  or  have  a  special  place  in  the  time 
schedule.  The  teacher  will  be  the  guide  into 
activities  that  really  express  the  ideals  that  de- 
velop in  the  class.  The  class  will  be  an  active 
group  engaging  in  enterprises  under  the  guidance 
of  the  teacher.  One  must  never  separate  activity 
from  the  purposes  of  instruction. 

The  work  for  the  special  group  will  be  that  of 
preparing  the  way  for  and  supplementing  the 
services  of  the  teacher.  They  will  constantly 
watch  for  opportunities  of  service  which  children 
may  render;  they  will  maintain  a  perpetual  sur- 
vey of  the  church  and  the  neighborhood  with  this 
in  mind.  They  will  prepare  lists  of  special  op- 
portunities. By  making  a  specialty  of  the  subject 
they  will  be  prepared  to  advise  teachers  who  may 
come  to  them  with  class  problems  in  this  field. 
When  the  teacher  is  organizing  the  class  for  some 
enterprise,  something  the  class  will  select  as  a 
purpose  and  which  they  will  do  together,  the  com- 

173 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

mittee  on  activities  ouglit  to  be  able  to  give  ex- 
pert advice  to  the  teaclier. 

This  committee  would  .also  act  to  grade  and  co- 
ordinate the  more  formal  activities  of  pupils. 
Some  overhead  direction  is  necessary,  especially 
when  the  forms  of  service  rendered  or  work  at- 
tempted enter  into  the  organization  and  activities 
of  the  local  church.  It  is  necessary  to  have  co- 
ordination lest  all  the  classes  should  be  moved 
to  fill  the  pulpit  vases  with  calla  lilies  on  the  same 
Sunday. 

The  special  committee  can  render  other  valuable 
services.  They  should  be  the  means  of  stimulating 
the  teacher's  study  of  this  subject.  They  should 
be  able  to  bring  the  latest  light  on  this  matter  to 
the  entire  school.  They  can  save  activity  from 
running  into  ruts.  Sometimes  those  ruts  are  ex- 
ceedingly narrow;  the  mention  of  flowers  for  the 
pulpit  suggests  the  tendency  to  set  limits  in 
ecclesiastical  routine.  Teachers  and  pupils,  both, 
keenly  need  the  consciousness  that  religious  activi- 
ty is  any  activity  which  is  prompted  and  guided 
by  the  religious  spirit.  It  is  the  living  of  an  active 
life  as  a  Christian  person.  Somehow  this  is  what 
the  school  must  help  the  child  to  discover,  that 
religious  service,  religious  activity  is  that  which 
goes  on  all  the  time  in  the  life  of  an  active  per- 
son, that  the  ^^expressional  activity"  of  the  re- 
ligious life  is  not  some  special  deed,  such  as  carry- 
ing provisions  to  the  needy,  not  some  '^holy'^  act, 
as  making  an  altar  scarf,  but  it  includes  these 
and  goes  on  to  include  all  action,  so  that  what- 

174 


THE  CHILD'S  ACTRTG  POWEES 

ever  I  do  is  an  activity  of  a  religious  life.  Thus 
the  school,  through  activity,  must  carry  forward 
and  extend  its  work  of  training  in  religion  into 
all  the  life  and  through  all  its  hours. 


175 


CHAPTER  XIII 
THE  LIBRARY  OF  THE  SCHOOL 

Frequently  the  school  library  is  a  good  deal 
like  the  buttons  on  the  back  of  a  man's  coat;  few 
have  the  courage  to  cut  them  off  and  few  know 
why  they  are  there.  A  library  that  is  not  a  neces- 
sity is  a  nuisance.  A  library  is  a  necessity  when  it 
has  a  worth-while  purpose. 

The  school  library  is  simply  the  extension  of 
the  great  purpose  and  work  of  the  school  into  the 
leisure  and  study  hours  of  the  pupils'  lives  by 
the  vehicle  of  reading.  It  is  the  church  reaching 
out  her  arms  to  guide  the  thinking,  stimulate  the 
imagination,  enlighten  the  minds  and  form  the 
wills  of  her  people,  especially  the  young,  through 
the  printed  page.  Young  people  will  read;  their 
reading  determines  what  they  are  in  no  small  de- 
gree; the  church  must  determine  that  reading  as 
far  as  possible.  This  necessary  service  takes  on 
three  aspects,  furnishing  the  material,  stimu- 
lating its  use,  and  so  guiding  the  reading  as  to 
secure  the  largest  possible  results  in  religious 
character  and  usefulness. 

WHAT   EVERY   LIBRARY   SHOULD    SEEK    TO    DO 

The  first  aim  of  every  library  will  be:  to  see 
that  no  person,  young  or  old,  in  the  care  of  the 

176 


THE  LIBRARY  OF  THE  SCHOOL 

church  is  destitute  of  the  reading  material  which 
they  need  for  their  religious  development. 
Whether  you  have  a  public  library  or  not  this 
responsibility  will  exist.  The  church  will  recog- 
nize the  good  work  of  the  public  institution  and 
will  cooperate  with  it  to  the  fullest  possible  ex- 
tent; but  she  cannot  leave  to  that  institution  the 
spiritual  welfare  of  the  people.  A  true  ^'library'' 
is  something  far  greater  than  a  collection  of 
books;  for  the  purposes  of  the  church  it  is  an 
organized  responsibility  for  the  reading  of  the 
parish.  If  the  church  is  responsible  for  the  spirit- 
ual welfare  of  the  people  she  ought  to  know  what 
nurture,  or  poison,  they  are  getting  through  read- 
ing. 

Second,  the  library  will  be  the  agency  of  the 
church  promoting  religious  education  through 
reading.  The  library,  in  this  wider  sense,  will 
be  the  group  in  the  church  caring  for  religious 
culture  through  the  printed  page  and  the  related 
story.  Next  to  securing  material  sufficient  for 
present  demands  the  library  will  seek  to  develop 
the  demand;  it  will  seek  to  have  every  person 
who  is  able  to  read  enrolled  on  a  list  of  readers. 
It  would  be  a  valuable  and  a  fascinating  task  for 
some  young  people  to  prepare  a  list  of  all  the 
people  in  the  parish  and  to  try  to  keep  a  record 
of  their  reading.  Why  should  not  a  church  seek 
this  standard:  every  member  reading  at  least 
three  really  worth-while  books  in  the  religious 
realm  every  year  and  every  reader  (including 
those  not  in  membership)  reading  something 
which  will  make  his  life  better? 

177 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODEEN  CHURCH 

Third,  the  library  will  seek  to  furnish  every 
worker  with  the  tools,  now  existing  in  literary 
form,  for  his  work.  It  will  also  seek  to  furnish 
those  who  are  yet  to  be  workers  with  the  means 
of  their  preparation.  The  school  library  is  the 
church  library;  it  is  the  training  library  more 
than  the  entertainment  library.  If  the  church 
would  have  workers  she  must  equip  them.  Vol- 
unteers have  a  right  to  demand  of  the  institution 
which  they  serve  such  assistance  as  they  need. 
"We  have  no  right  to  criticize  their  work  until  we 
have  made  it  possible  for  them  to  do  it  aright. 
Something  will  be  said  later  as  to  the  material 
which  should  be  in  the  worker's  library. 

Fourth,  the  library  will  use  a  wide  variety  of 
means,  all  the  methods  of  the  modern  city  library, 
the  story  hour,  pictures,  exhibits  and  book  con- 
tests, all  will  be  brought  to  serve  the  common 
end  of  growing  religious  character. 

Fifth,  the  ideal  library  will  make  the  most  of 
its  community  opportunities.  Where  there  is  a 
good  public  library  the  function  of  the  church 
library  will  be  largely  that  of  cooperation,  sug- 
gesting good  religious  books,  guiding  the  school 
pupils  in  their  reading  and  aiding  the  public  li- 
brary in  securing  the  highest  possible  character 
results.  This  will  not  mean  the  elimination  of  ac- 
tual library  work  from  the  school. 

The  aim  of  this  library,  dominating  all  other 
considerations,  will  be  to  bring  to  all,  young  and 
old,  the  aims,  ideals,  motives  and  methods  of  the 
teaching  and  work  of  Jesus  through  the  printed 

178 


THE  LIBRAEY  OF  THE  SCHOOL 

page,   the  magazine,   tlie   book   and  picture,   to 
make  literature  a  means  of  life  eternal. 


WHAT  SHOUIJ)  BE  IN  THE  LIBRAIIY^ 

Just  what  material  should  be  found  in  a  school 
library  would  depend  principally  on  the  purpose 
of  the  library,  on  just  what  the  school  expects 
to  accomplish  through  it,  and  that  would  depend 
on  the  environment  of  the  school,  on  the  com- 
munity it  was  serving. 

There  are  at  least  three  types  of  school 
libraries :  First,  the  general  library ^  designed  to 
meet  all  the  literary  needs  of  its  own  community, 
second,  the  library  complementing  an  incomplete 
public  library,  and,  third,  the  library  cooperating 
with  a  public  library.  The  recent  development 
of  public  libraries  in  cities  and  larger  villages  has 
reduced  the  necessity  for  the  first  type,  the  one 
which  used  to  be  the  prevailing  type.  Yet  there 
remain  many  smaller  villages  where  the  church 
must  render  this  community  service  and  accept 
this  responsibility.  It  presents  a  gTeat  oppor- 
tunity, a  splendid  chance  of  service. 

A  general  library  should  contain  three  distinct 
sections,  in  the  following  order  of  importance: 

(1)  books  of  general  literature  chosen  because 
of  their  power  to  inspire,  enlighten  and  lead  lives ; 

(2)  books  on  methods  of  religious  work;  (3)  books 
on  specifically  religious  subjects,  including  the 
work  and  principles  of  the  church  maintaining 
the  library. 

The  first  section  will  include  the  great  literary 
179 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODEEN  CHURCH 

classics,  the  books  without  which  no  life  is  really 
furnished.  There  is  no  need  to  secure  the  latest, 
ephemeral  books ;  too  many  look  on  a  loan  library 
as  a  plan  to  save  idle  readers  the  price  of  each 
new  sensation.  A  good  library  will  minister  first 
to  children,  on  the  principle  that,  if  you  rightly 
educate  the  child  ^s  taste  the  adult  will  buy  good 
books  for  himself.  To  guide  in  the  selection  of 
general  books  for  children  one  might  consult  ^^A 
Mother's  List  of  Books  for  Children''  by  G.  W. 
Arnold,  or  '^ Fingerposts  to  Children's  Reading" 
by  W.  T.  Field.  For  shorter  lists  see  the  required 
reading  in  English  under  the  curricula  of  the 
school  systems  of  the  different  states.  But,  in 
practice  today,  it  is  seldom  necessary  to  compile 
the  lists  of  classics  for  such  a  library;  it  is  better 
to  enter  into  relations  with  the  nearest  city  li- 
brary for  the  loan  of  these  books  on  the  travel- 
ling plan  or  for  the  establishment  of  a  branch 
library. 

The  section  on  methods  of  religious  work  is 
most  important.  Whatever  other  sections  the  li- 
brary may  have  this  will  be  the  most  valuable  one. 
The  duty  of  providing  these  books  must  fall  on 
the  church.  Whenever  the  church  asks  for  vol- 
unteer workers  the  least  it  can  do  is  to  provide 
them  with  the  tools  for  their  work.  The  demand 
for  greater  efficiency  means  that  we  must  give 
workers  a  chance  to  study,  to  know  what  is  being 
done  in  other  places ;  we  must  put  into  their  hands 
the  human  means  of  attaining  efficiency.  Until 
that  is  done  we  have  no  right  to  criticize  them 
for  failures  and  short-comings  in  their  methods. 

180 


THE  LIBRAEY  OF  THE  SCHOOL 

Every  church-school  library  then  must  engage 
in  training  workers  for  religious  service  by  means 
of  the  right  books. 

The  workers '  library  should  be  placed  for  ready 
reference.  The  books  should  be  divided  into  sec- 
tions approximately  as  follows:  The  Bible;  Re- 
ligion; Christian  Theology;  The  Church;  General 
Education;  General  Works  on  Religious  Educa- 
tion; General  Works  on  the  Sunday  School; 
Psychology  of  Religion;  Pedagogy  and  Method; 
Departments  (one  section  to  each);  The  Family; 
Boys;  Girls;  Recreation;  Social  Studies.  These 
divisions  will  be  sufficient  for  a  relatively  small 
library.  It  would  be  no  mean  beginning  to  have 
four  good  books  in  each  of  these  sections. 

The  sections  should  be  plainly  labelled,  and 
arranged  with  the  more  comprehensive,  practical 
books  set  first  in  each.  If  the  school  must  build 
the  library  gradually  then  let  the  first  two  books 
in  each  of  the  topic-divisions  above  be  first  pur- 
chased. A  capital  selection  is  published  by  the 
Commission  on  Religious  Education  of  the  North- 
em  Baptist  Convention.  This  list  and  a  smaller 
one  may  be  obtained  at  the  office  of  the  Religious 
Education  Association,  1440  East  57th  Street, 
Chicago,  Illinois. 

The  third  division,  books  on  general  religious 
subjects,  is  the  most  difficult  to  choose.  The  pur- 
pose should  be  that  the  youth  in  particular  should 
know  the  great  facts  and  ideals  of  his  faith.  It 
should  include  the  standard  works  on  biblical 
knowledge.  By  standard  works  we  mean,  not  sim- 
ply those  that  are  sold  in  sets,  nor  even  alone 

181 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

those  sold  with  the  imprint  of  our  own  chnrch, 
but  those  written  by  recognized  authorities.  For 
example,  the  work  of  George  Adam  Smith  in  bib- 
lical geography  is  essential  to  any  good  library, 
public  or  private.  Let  the  committee  have  clearly 
in  mind  the  needs  of  young  people  and  the  de- 
termination to  secure  for  them  all  the  light  pos- 
sible on  the  word  of  God.^ 


THE    CITY   SUNDAY-SCHOOL  LIBRARY 

Is  the  library  in  the  city  Sunday  school  to  be 
an  historic  memory  only?  The  rapid  develop- 
ment of  the  public  library  has  been  accompanied 
by  the  decadence  of  the  church  library  in  the 
same  communities.  The  former  has  done  its  work 
so  well  that  the  latter — really  its  forerunner  and 
parent — now  appears  to  be  unnecessary.  Scarce- 
ly anywhere  do  we  find  an  efficient  library  in  the 
plans  of  the  modem  religious  school.  But,  if  we 
believe  that  the  school  ought  to  use  every  agency 
of  extension  which  it  efficiently  can  control,  we 
ought  to  ask  whether  the  school  library  is  not  such 
an  agency. 

It  would  not  be  worth  while  attempting  to  re- 
vive the  church-school  library  unless  we  really 
need  it  and  unless  it  can  accomplish  certain  ends 
which  are  not  already  being  accomplished.  The 
question  is  whether  the  public  library  is  able  to 

*  For  exhaustive  lists  of  books  in  these  fields  see  the  bibliographies 
on  the  Old  Testament  by  Prof.  J.  M.  P.  Smith,  on  the  New  Testa- 
ment by  Prof.  C.  W.  Votaw;  for  a  shorter  popular  list  see  the 
American  Library  Association's  list  under  *  * Eeligion. ' ' 

182 


THE  LIBEAEY  OF  THE  SCHOOL 

minister  to  the  community  in  those  spiritual  needs 
which  may  be  met  by  literature.  The  former  has 
certain  limitations  at  points  where  the  latter  has 
advantages.  The  public  library,  which  is  usually 
a  public  institution,  has  in  its  support  and  conduct 
the  limitations  inherent  in  all  public  agencies.  It 
cannot  serve  any  one  faith  or  any  one  church 
alone.  It  is  usually  very  careful  to  avoid  de- 
nominational bias  or  leading  in  its  selections  of 
religious  books.  Indeed  many  libraries  are  so 
nervous  on  the  subject  as  to  exclude  all  religious 
books,  confounding  religion  with  sectarianism. 
This  timidity  is  especially  noticeable  in  books  and 
work  for  the  young.  The  library  seldom  attempts 
in  any  way  to  teach  them  religion,  although  some 
of  its  books  for  children  have  large  religious  val- 
ues. As  an  institution  it  is  unconscious  of  any 
direct  responsibility  in  this  respect.  This  is  not 
said  in  criticism  for  it  is  a  condition  unavoidable 
in  any  public  institution. 

On  the  other  hand  the  church  school  is  a  pri- 
vate institution.  Its  specific  purpose,  of  the  re- 
ligious development  of  lives,  gives  it  a  direct  re- 
ligious responsibility  for  the  young.  It  not  only 
may  but  it  must  see  that  their  reading  is  directed 
for  religious  ends ;  it  must  see  to  it  that  through 
reading,  just  as  through  class  teaching,  they  come 
to  know  life  as  a  spiritual  matter.  The  direct 
selection  of  books  and  the  promotion  of  their  dis- 
tribution with  a  view  to  the  religious  needs  of 
readers  is  a  service  for  which  the  home  and  the 
church  are  responsible  and  which  these  two  agen- 
cies best  can  render. 

183 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

The  churcli-scliool  library  has  advantages  of 
individual  contact.  The  public  library  deals  with 
the  community  as  a  whole;  the  church-school  li- 
brary deals  with  a  special  section  of  it.  The 
work  of  the  latter  becomes  more  direct  and  per- 
sonal; it  may  be  specialized  and  made  individual. 
True,  the  public  institution  of  a  modern  type 
tries  to  come  as  close  to  its  people  as  possible, 
but  it  cannot  know  their  individual  needs,  it  can- 
not follow  a  book  into  the  homes  nor  can  it  re- 
view its  teaching  personally  as  can  the  church 
school  through  its  teachers.  A  church  school 
forms  an  ideal  social  unit  in  which  the  ministry 
of  a  library  to  the  religious  life  by  literature  may 
be  promoted  and  directed. 

The  church-school  library  is  a  convenient  type 
of  localized  work.  It  brings  the  library  closer 
to  the  people.  The  modem  public  library  wel- 
comes to  its  aid  all  smaller  libraries  when  they 
are  efficiently  conducted.  It  does  not  regard  them 
as  competitors.  It  knows  we  cannot  have  too 
many  agencies  for  the  provision  of  good  reading 
and  its  promotion.  It  will  usually  plan  methods 
of  cooperation,  provided  the  smaller  library  will 
do  business  seriously. 

The  truth  is  that  city  library  work  today  needs 
closer  contact  with  the  people.  We  need  more 
small  libraries.  Just  as  the  schools  must  be  scat- 
tered through  the  city  so  should  these  other  agen- 
cies of  education  be  brought  nearer  to  the  differ- 
ent community  groups.  Much  has  been  accom- 
plished by  branch  libraries  and  by  distributing 
stations.    But  there  still  remain  many  groups  who 

184 


THE  LIBEAEY  OF  THE  SCHOOL 

do  not  use  the  public  library  because  of  its  in- 
accessibility. An  ideal  would  be :  at  least  as  many 
libraries  as  there  are  school  houses.  But  in  order 
to  minister  to  community  needs  it  must  be  evi- 
dent to  all  that  the  small  local  library  is  doing 
business  seriously,  that  it  is  just  as  efficient  in 
its  sphere  as  the  larger  library. 

Just  there  lies  the  crucial  question:  can  a 
church-school  library  be  efficiently  conducted  in 
a  city  school?  Certainly  it  can,  provided  the 
school  is  willing  to  take  this  opportunity  with 
a  seriousness  worthy  of  its  possibilities.  The 
church-school  library  usually  fails  because  it  is 
left  to  run  itself.  No  one  thinks  it  is  t^orth  work- 
ing at.  The  books  are  not  selected,  they  are 
bought  wholesale  and  haphazard.  Pupils'  selec- 
tion is  usually  without  guidance  and  book  distri- 
bution is  crowded  into  odd  moments  of  an  already 
overloaded  program.  The  library  itself  is  never 
really  open  and  it  only  distributes  once  a  week. 
The  librarian  is  regarded  as  a  negligible  officer 
receiving  neither  counsel  nor  encouragement. 

An  efficient  church  library  will  be  first  of  all 
hacked  by  the  church  realizing  the  immense  pos- 
sibility of  this  opportunity  of  instruction  into 
homes  and  leisure  hours.  The  church  will  see  that 
this  open  door  must  be  entered  and  mil  not  hesi- 
tate to  furnish  the  necessary  money  and  facili- 
ties. 

A  library  if  it  is  to  be  worth  while  needs  just 
what  the  public  library  has :  men  and  money.  Al- 
most all  the  public  institutions  are  supported  by 
taxation  and  few  are  they  who  complain  of  the 

185 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

financial  burden  of  their  support.  Yet  we  hesi- 
tate when  it  is  proposed  to  spend  money  on  a 
church  library.  We  suggest  that  the  funds  should 
be  secured  by  a  concert  or  entertainment  or  some 
other  form  of  anesthetizing  the  money  nerves. 
Then  the  church-school  children  must  give  the  en- 
tertainment. In  other  words  the  church,  as  the 
spiritual  parent  of  these  children  says,  *^Yes,  we 
will  feed  them  provided  they  will  earn  the  money 
to  pay  for  the  food.''  Fond  parent;  does  she 
wonder  later  if  many  of  these  children  are  lack- 
ing in  affection  for  her? 

It  is  hardly  wise  to  attempt  a  city  school-library 
unless  it  has  a  place  in  the  church  budget.  A 
place  in  the  budget  depends  on  a  recognized  place 
in  the  business  of  the  church.  Let  those  who  be- 
lieve in  a  library  plan  its  work  in  detail  and  be 
prepared  to  prove  to  hesitating  church  officers 
that  the  library  will  actually  serve  the  business 
of  the  church  in  definite  ways. 

Such  a  library  will,  second,  seek  to  supplement 
or  complement  the  work  of  the  public  library;  it 
will  not  duplicate  it.  It  vAW  not  fill  its  shelves 
with  the  same  kind  of  fiction  to  be  found  in  the 
other  library.  It  may  properly  call  attention  to 
all  material  in  the  public  institution  which  will 
aid  in  its  own  purposes  of  character  development. 
It  may  properly  bring  its  influence  to  persuade 
the  public  library  to  secure  a  due  portion  of  re- 
ligious books.  It  may  establish  a  branch  public 
library  in  its  own  walls  and  so  render  a  valuable 
service.  But  it  will  specialize  in  its  ministry  to 
the  religious  needs  of  its  community.     It  may 

186 


THE  LIBEAEY  OF  THE  SCHOOL 

well  call  into  counsel  the  experts  of  the  public 
library  to  aid  in  its  organization  and  manage- 
ment and  especially  to  aid  in  the  selection  of 
books. 

Third,  this  library  will  furnish  the  tools  for  its 
oivji  luorkers.  It  will  haye  a  strong  section  of 
reference  works  and  of  books  on  the  methods  of 
religions  education. 

Fourth,  it  will  magnify  its  mission  by  making 
its  purposes  and  its  opportunities  known  to  all 
the  church.  It  will  do  this  through  the  church 
seryices,  special  bulletins  and  by  the  cooperation 
of  the  school  and  its  teachers. 

Fifth,  it  will  serye  as  a  commimity  cejiter  of 
reading.  The  room  should  be  open  often,  as  Sun- 
day afternoons  and  in  the  week.  Much  that  has 
been  already  suggested  for  tha  rural  library  can 
be  done  in  the  city.  The  times  for  distribution 
should  be  for  at  least  thirty  minutes  before 
school,  thirty  minutes  after  school  and  at  other 
times  of  week-day  openings.  This  will  inyolye 
the  use  of  a  larger  working  staff,  and  where  or 
in  what  way  could  they  be  better  employed?  It 
will  afford  new  opportunities  of  seryice  for  young 
people  who  are  craying  work. 

Sixth,  this  library  will  use  every  possible  means 
of  extension,  circulating  pamphlets,  periodicals, 
pictures,  phonograph  records  and  music,  making 
itself  a  clearing-house  for  the  best  things  of  re- 
ligious art  and  literature.  Here  is  the  oppor- 
tunity for  an  enthusiast  who  can  see  it,  who  can 
be  left  free  to  organize  and  direct  this  seryice  and 

187. 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

who  will  have  the  support  of  the  school  and  the 
church. 

THE  LIBEAEY  IN  THE  BUKAL  CHUECH 

Looking  over  the  books  of  a  country  school-li- 
brary recently,  one  soon  discovered  why  it  had 
been  pronounced  a  failure;  it  consisted  wholly 
of  curiosities  of  old-time  literature.  It  was  evi- 
dently a  relic,  and  any  attempt  to  use  it  today 
would  be  based  on  the  foolish,  yet  too  prevalent 
notion  that  country  people  either  do  not  know 
what  they  want  or  do  not  want  what  they  ought 
to  know.  If  we  compare  the  people  of  the  city 
and  those  of  the  open  country  we  will  surely  find 
a  higher  average  of  intelligence  in  the  latter. 
Therefore  the  rural  library  ought  to  be  a  good 
one. 

In  facing  problems  it  is  worth  while  to  make 
an  inventory  of  the  advantages.  A  pessimist  is 
one  who  keeps  his  ledgers  only  on  one  side.  The 
first  advantage  is  that  people  in  the  country  have 
larger  opportunities  for  reading.  Not  that  they 
have  fewer  working  hours ;  by  no  means ;  but  that 
they  have  fewer  distractions  outside  of  those 
working  hours.  When  the  long  evenings  set  in 
they  do  not  find  the  motion-picture  just  around  the 
comer ;  it  is  often  difficult  to  visit  with  even  neigh- 
bors, and  folks  gather  about  the  lighted  lamp  and 
reach  out  toward  the  wide  world  opened  by  read- 
ing. 

The  rural  church  is  the  one  that  most  easily 
justifies  a  library,  for  this  is  a  form  of  needed 
ministry  to  its  community.    Good  books  populate 

188 


THE  LIBEARY  OF  THE  SCHOOL 

the  country  side  with  great  souls ;  they  bring  the 
great  thinkers  into  the  homes,  just  as  city  folks 
may  occasionally  go  out  of  their  homes  to  hear 
them  in  the  churches  and  halls.  Where  the  leisure 
exists  the  country  church  has  a  splendid  chance 
for  valuable  service  in  promoting  good  reading. 

The  true  rural  church,  loyal  to  its  mission,  to- 
day sees  itself  as  servant  to  the  whole  comitry 
side.  Its  library  goes  out  into  that  life  like  ar- 
teries of  vitality  to  cheer,  stimulate  and  educate. 
If  you  know  how  papers  and  magazines  are  wel- 
comed, devoured  and  cherished  in  the  farms  and 
rural  homes  you  will  realize  how  the  church  serves 
its  people  and  earns  their  gratitude  by  providing 
a  supply  of  good  reading. 

The  contents  of  the  rural  library  will  be  de- 
termined  hy  the  needs  of  the  cowimunity.  The 
first  need  will  often  be  stimulation  to  the  joy  of 
reading.  This  will  take  two  directions,  first,  fol- 
low up  the  reading  of  the  school  children;  find 
out  just  how  far  the  school  takes  them  and  be- 
fore the  reading  habit  has  been  allowed  to  die 
see  that  the  kind  of  books  that  would  come  next 
are  in  the  hands  of  these  young  people. 

Next,  help  older  folks  to  regain  the  reading 
habit.  Try  to  get  them  to  see  that  newspapers 
are  only  a  convenience,  but  the  soul  in  a  book 
is  a  necessity;  lead  them  on  from  the  ephemeral 
in  magazines  to  the  permanent  and  substantial 
in  books.  This  will  mean  that  at  first  some  books 
must  be  selected  that  come  rather  near  to  the 
brevity  of  the  magazine.  It  will  also  mean  that 
special  steps  are  taken  to  get  these  folks  to  know 

189 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHUEGH 

more  than  the  covers  of  books.  Try  giving  read- 
ings from  great  and  simple  classics,  stories  pre- 
ferably at  first.  Call  your  people  up  on  the  tele- 
phone and  ask,  with  the  zest  of  a  new  discovery, 
if  they  have  found  the  pleasure  you  experienced 
in  a  certain  book.  Keep  on  bringing  the  joys 
of  books  to  their  minds.  This  suggests  a  gen- 
eral principle  that  holds  for  all  libraries,  that 
only  one  who  knows  and  loves  books  can  lead 
others  to  them,  only  a  book-lover — ^not  a  biblio- 
phile— can  make  a  real  librarian. 

The  special  interests  of  rural  life  will  also  de- 
termine the  books  in  the  library.  They  should 
include  books  which  directly  aid  the  life  of  the 
people,  books  that  deal  with  the  farm  and  coun- 
try-side. The  church  is  not  falling  from  its  high 
mission  if  it  serves  the  community  by  supplying 
books  on  scientific,  practical  farming,  dairying, 
gardens  and  forestry.  Books  of  outdoor  recrea- 
tions and  sports  should  be  included.  You  will 
find  these  people  are  naturally  interested  in  books 
that  deal  with  the  outdoor  life  of  the  Bible,  the 
scenery  and  especially  the  plants  and  animal  life 
of  biblical  lands  and  times. 

All  this  does  not  for  an  instant  assume  that 
the  level  of  reading  in  the  country  is  lower  than 
that  in  the  city.  Indeed  you  can  usually  count 
on  a  lower  percentage  of  light  fiction  in  any  rural 
library;  and  you  will  need  to  include,  along  with 
the  serious,  practical  works  mentioned,  the  best 
literature  available.  Nor  should  the  shelves  be 
depositories   for  the   out-worn  junk   of  city  li- 

190 


THE  LIBEABY  OF  THE  SCHOOL 

braries.  The  town  church  cannot  play  Lady 
Bountiful  with  old  clothes  for  country  minds. 

Some  special  methods  of  library  use  are  possi- 
ble in  the  rural  communities.  Arrange  your  li- 
brary if  possible  as  a  rest  and  reading  room,  help- 
ing to  make  the  church  a  real  social  center.  Have 
it  open  as  much  as  possible,  especially  at  times 
when  the  folks  come  to  the  center.  Foster  the 
habit  of  reading  there  and  the  habit  of  carrying 
home  a  book  with  the  same  pleasures  that  new 
goods  and  groceries  are  carried  home. 

Try  a  meeting  in  this  library  room  at  regular 
intervals  when  some  one  will  talk  on  books  and 
reading,  when  a  reading  may  be  given  or  the 
evening  spent  in  a  discussion  of  a  book  which 
has  been  generally  read.  Such  a  meeting  might 
develop  into  a  reading  club;  but  keep  the  gath- 
ering open  to  any  who  would  come.  The  chil- 
dren may  be  gathered  for  story  hours,  in  the  li- 
brary, just  as  school  is  dismissed. 

Neglect  no  opportunity  of  maintaining  contact 
with  lives  by  means  of  books.  Use  the  telephone 
and  the  county  papers  to  advertise.  Use  the  rural 
delivery  to  circulate.  Take  advantage  of  the 
neighborhood  gatherings  and  journeyings  of  coun- 
try folks  to  the  church  center.  Keep  the  books 
going;  if  they  are  worn  out  in  service  you  will 
have  developed  appreciation  ample  to  buy  new 
ones. 

Enter  into  the  opportunity  of  your  rural  life 
by  socializing  the  library.  Seek  out  every  way 
possible  of  making  it  of  service  to  all  the  people, 
helping  them  to  think  of  it  as  a  center  from  which 

191 


^THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODEEN  CHUECH 

flow  out  streams  of  pleasure  and  helpfulness.  It 
is  doubtful  whether  any  other  situation  affords 
finer  opportunities  for  the  usefulness  of  the  li- 
brary. 

And  now  we  can  imagine  some  one  saying,  All 
this  sounds  like  advice  and  plans  for  a  general 
library,  rather  than  a  church-school  library  for 
children.  "Well,  if  ever  the  library  ought  to  be 
general  it  is  here.  After  all  is  not  the  oppor- 
tunity of  the  church-school  library  just  that  of 
the  school  reaching  out,  hy  extension  work  into 
all  the  homes  and  all  the  leisure  hours  of  all  the 
community?  This  is  especially  the  social  religious 
opportunity  of  this  library. 

THE  CHUECH-SCHOOL  LIBRARY  COMMITTEE 

Many  libraries  die  for  lack  of  any  management 
and  others  from  excessive  management  at  one 
particular  point.  But  the  highest  mortality  is 
due  to  a  combination  of  these  two  causes ;  a  total 
neglect  of  some  duties  of  management  with  over- 
emphasis on  others.  The  popular  idea  as  to  a 
church-school  library  is  that  the  duties  of  the 
management  are  discharged  as  soon  as  three 
things  are  provided :  books,  facilities  for  receiving 
and  disbursing  them  and  space  for  their  housing. 
This  requires  relatively  little  management  and, 
save  for  the  selection  of  books,  when  once  a  sys- 
tem has  been  established  for  their  distribution 
and  return,  the  management  committee  might  as 
well  resign  and  let  the  library  run  itself. 

But  a  library  is  more  than  a  warehouse  of 
192 


THE  LIBEARY  OF  THE  SCHOOL 

books,  and  it  is  more  than  a  banking  system  of 
books.  The  modem  library  exists  to  stimulate 
the  nse  of  books,  to  cultivate  tastes  and  to  guide 
reading.  It  is  likely  to  interpret  its  function  still 
more  broadly,  so  that  public  libraries  keep  and 
loan  musical  records  for  piano-players  and  phono- 
graphs, conduct  story  hours,  hold  exhibits  of  pic- 
tures, of  illustrations  of  commercial  processes, 
and,  by  every  means  in  their  power,  minister  to 
the  needs  of  their  constituencies.  Public  libraries 
are  increasingly  conscious  of  a  definite  mission. 
Once  they  were  dignified  repositories  of  books 
appreciated  by  the  few,  now  they  are  missionaries 
of  the  joys  of  literature  to  the  many.  They  ad- 
vertise, agitate  and  stimulate. 

A  school  library  with  a  mission  will  need  a  spe- 
cial committee  of  management  animated  with  the 
missionary  spirit,  clearly  seeing  the  printed  page, 
the  appeal  to  the  eye,  as  the  great  opportunity 
of  reaching  the  mind  and  persuading  the  judg- 
ment. It  will  be  as  zealous  to  teach,  inspire  and 
stimulate  lives  by  this  means  as  others  are  to  do 
the  same  by  the  spoken  word.  Perhaps  for  the 
working  basis  of  their  mission  their  conception 
of  a  library  will  go  farther  and  will  include  in 
the  field  of  the  library  ^s  instruments  whatever  can 
be  used  to  develop  the  religious  life  in  a  form 
that  permits  of  public  distribution  and  of  re- 
peated use,  so  that  the  library  might  include  mu- 
sical records,  pictures  for  loan  and  even  toys  and 
games.  The  public  library  at  Evanston,  111.,  has 
a  large  collection  of  records,  with  a  player  piano, 
in  a  special  room ;  the  records  may  be  loaned. 

193 


JTHE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODEKN  CHURCH 

Tlie  committee  of  management  will  think  of  its 
duties  just  as  the  general  manager  of  a  factory 
or  store  would  think  of  his  duties.  If  he  is  worth 
his  wage  he  will  not  need  to  be  told  that  he  is 
engaged  not  to  hold  the  business  at  its  old  level 
but  to  promote,  advance  and  extend  it.  He  must 
make  it  grow.  He  is  more  than  the  safety-valve 
or  the  controller  on  the  engine;  he  is  the  engi- 
neer. The  business  of  the  committee  of  man- 
agement in  the  library,  or  the  ^'library  commit- 
tee'^  as  it  is  usually  called,  will  be  to  devise  the 
plans  by  which  it  may  serve  the  purposes  it  holds 
in  common  with  the  school  and  the  church,  to 
select  the  materials  by  which  it  may  best  serve 
these  ends  and  to  direct  its  activities  so  as  to  ren- 
der the  largest  possible  service. 

There  are  then  three  duties  which  the  commit- 
tee may  readily  set  before  itself,  first,  planning 
the  ministry  of  the  library  to  the  community, 
second,  selecting  the  materials  which  the  library 
will  tise,  books,  etc. ;  third,  management  of  the  de- 
tails of  storing,  receiving  and  distribution.  Prob- 
ably it  will  b'e  found  that  the  simplest  division  of 
labor  mil  be  under  subcommittees  on  Propaganda, 
Accessions  and  Management. 

The  Committee  on  Propaganda.  The  first  of 
these  committees  will  be  the  most  important  for 
all  else  will  depend  on  the  special  activities  in 
which  this  library  is  to  engage.  As  suggested  in 
the  first  section  of  this  chapter  these  activities  will 
depend  largely  on  the  type  of  community  to  which 
the  library  is  to  minister.  Therefore  the  commit- 
tee will  determine,  first,  what  the  needs  of  the 

194 


THE  LIBRAEY  OF  THE  SCHOOL 

conuniiiiity  are  and  how  the  library  may  aid  in 
meeting  them.  It  will  also  determine  its  field  as 
it  may  be  hmited  by  the  work  of  other  similar 
agencies,  such  as  public  libraries,  already  at  work. 

Then  this  subcommittee  on  propaganda  will 
make  a  careful  statement  of  the  kinds  of  ma- 
terial needed,  passing  this  over  to  the  subcom- 
mittee on  ^'Accessions"  for  their  guidance  in  the 
selection  of  books  and  other  material.  Next  this 
subcommittee  will  come  to  the  task  at  which  it 
must  work  all  through  the  years,  that  of  devising 
plans  to  enlarge  the  ministry  of  the  library.  Per- 
haps its  most  difficult  task,  the  one  calling  for- 
most  imagination  and  courage,  will  be  that  of 
stimulating  the  habit  of  using  the  library. 

Stimulation  will  lie  in  two  directions,  at  least, 
first,  that  of  encouraging  the  use  of  the  custom- 
ary material  of  the  library,  books;  second,  that 
of  adopting  and  discovering  new  methods,  other 
than  the  circulation  of  books,  to  accomplish  the 
general  purpose  of  the  library  which  is  surely  the 
nurture  of  the  higher  life  of  the  spirit  by  every 
kind  of  teacher  and  guide  which  can  be  taken 
into  the  homes  and  the  leisure  hours. 

Stimulate  by  advertising.  Let  the  pastor  ad- 
vertise by  direct  endorsements  of  special  books, 
by  incidental  references  to  good  reading,  by  in- 
quiries and  suggestions  in  the  course  of  his  fam- 
ily visitations.  Let  the  Superintendent  advertise 
from  the  desk,  in  any  church  publications  and  by 
suggestions  to  teachers  on  their  reading.  Let 
the  teachers  advertise;  tell  them  what  books  to 
recommend  to  their  classes;  urge  them  to  come 

195 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODEEN  CHURCH 

into  the  library  and  select  books  during  tbe  week. 
Let  the  books  themselves  advertise  by  inviting 
pupils  and  people  of  the  community  into  the  li- 
brary to  spend  as  much  time  as  they  will  there. 
"Whenever  possible  follow  in  this  library  the  open- 
shelf  plan.  Get  people  accustomed  to  seeing  and 
handling  books ;  let  them  know  them,  not  only  by 
catalog  names  but  by  sight,  by  examination  into 
contents.  Let  the  committee  advertise  by  posters, 
placards  and  by  reading  notices  in  the  local  pa- 
pers. Often  the  publishers  will  be  glad  to  send 
attractive  posters  of  new  books.  Space  does  not 
permit  to  give  details  of  all  the  plans  this  com- 
mittee might  use;  reading  circles,  special  read- 
ings, excerpts  from  striking  passages,  all  the  de- 
vices of  the  up-to-business  public  library. 

New  plans  of  service  demand  courage,  but  this 
committee  must  not  be  afraid  of  new  methods, 
provided  they  are  to  be  useful.  Keep  in  mind 
that  this  library  is  to  be  the  school  projecting 
itself  by  any  suitable  portable  means  into  homes 
and  leisure  hours.  If  the  library  could  lend  to 
every  family  having  a  phonograph  some  of  the 
best  religious  music  we  could  soon  write  our 
happy  obituary  notices  of  the  too-popular  rag- 
time which  bears  the  name  of  religion  and  dis- 
graces it.  If  the  committee  could  lend  good  re- 
productions of  great  religious  paintings  how 
many  families  would  be  inspired  to  substitute  pic- 
tures of  value  for  the  prevalent  meaningless 
chromes ! 

The  committee  on  Accessions  has  the  duty  of 
keeping  the  tools  of  the  library  up  to  the  effi- 

196 


THE  LIBRAEY  OF  THE  SCHOOL 

ciency  standard.  It  will  be  watching  all  the  time 
for  the  right  books.  The  selections  will  not  be 
hastily  made  once  or  twice  a  year,  biit  members 
of  the  committee  will  ask  publishers  to  send  them 
their  announcements  and  will  be  compiling  their 
lists  of  proposed  additions  all  the  time.  Do  not 
confine  yourselves  to  a  few  publishers ;  all  makers 
of  books  are  glad  to  send  you  their  announce- 
ments regularly  if  you  really  intend  to  exercise 
discrimination  in  selection.  As  the  needs  of  th© 
community  are  reported  by  the  committee  on 
Propaganda  this  committee  on  Accessions  will  be 
able  to  go  over  all  the  field  of  available  material 
and  make  suitable  selections.  The  unfortunate 
and  lazy  custom  is  to  order  church-school  library 
books  in  a  hurry,  from  a  few  lists  furnished  by 
denominational  houses  or  by  some  publisher  who 
has  offered  a  gambling  discount. 

This  committee  will  need  ability  to  refuse ;  pub- 
lishers know  the  laziness  of  Sunday-school  library 
committees  and  succeed  in  unloading  trash  on 
them  in  many  cases.  We  have  long  since  passed 
the  day  when  anything  in  print  would  do,  when 
the  ignorance  of  Sunday-school  pupils  made  the 
preposterous,  milk-and-water,  goody-goody  book 
acceptable  to  them.  This  library  is  in  competi- 
tion with  a  world  of  books  in  a  reading  age.  True, 
people  read  too  largely  the  froth  and  scum  of 
the  daily  press ;  but  the  merely  trivial,  the  wishy- 
washy  will  not  compete  with  it  nor  eradicate  the 
perverted  taste.  This  committee  should  consist 
of  people  who  know  both  books  and  the  youth 
mind  of  today,  and,  also,  those  who  know  what 

197 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

the  ideal  aim  of  the  school  is  in  religious  educa- 
tion. 

The  work  of  the  committee  on  Management  is 
that  of  the  direction  of  the  actual  work  of  dis- 
tributing, receiving  and  recording  books  and  other 
material  of  the  library.  It  will  provide  the  rooms, 
select  the  furniture,  tools  and  supplies.  It  will 
arrange  as  to  the  hours  of  opening,  rules  and 
regulations,  corps  of  workers  and  methods  of 
operation.  Whenever  possible  it  should  have  as 
chairman  one  who  has  had  actual  experience  in 
public  library  work.  Lacking  this  anyone  accept- 
ing the  chairmanship  should  be  willing  to  study 
modern  methods  of  library  work.  This  is  reaUy 
a  highly  technical  subject  in  some  departments, 
but  the  wise  worker  will  study  to  simplify  it  and 
to  bring  the  manifold  operations  of  the  library 
into  a  working  and  efificient  unity. 

THE  RELIGIOUS  AIM  OF  THE  LIBKAET 

All  that  has  been  said  on  the  school  library  is 
predicated  on  its  religious  purpose.  There  is 
just  one  clear  and  sufficient  reason  for  a  school 
library:  that  the  school  may  extend  itself  for  the 
accomplishment  of  its  purposes  into  the  homes 
and  the  leisure  hours  of  all  its  people.  If  we 
hold  that  the  purpose  of  the  school  is  the  develop- 
ment of  Christian  character  and  training  in  Chris- 
tian usefulness  by  educational  processes,  it  is 
surely  evident  that  good  literature  may  serve  this 
end  and  may  be  used  educationally. 

It  is  worth  while  to  see  that  the  broad  purpose 
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THE  LIBKAKY  OF  THE  SCHOOL 

of  developing  Christian  character  is  serv^ed  h^ 
good  reading.  We  seek  to  grow  lives ;  whatever 
stimulates  those  lives  toward  larger,  richer,  higher 
living  aids  our  purpose.  All  reading  furnishes 
some  sort  of  stimulus ;  it  is  all  food  of  the  inner 
life.  But  by  selecting  the  good  and  furnishing  that 
which  is  healthy  and  good  we  aid  higher  growth, 
we  help  to  secure  spiritual  health,  strength  and 
manhood.  This  is  true  of  all  reading.  It  either 
builds  up  or  it  tears  down  and  whatever  in  any 
way  builds  up  helps  to  serve  God's  purpose  of 
growing  men  and  women  into  fulness  of  life.  Not 
all  literature  ministering  to  the  life  of  the  spirit 
is  labelled  religious.  Many  of  Browning's  poems 
count  more  for  spiritual  ends  than  most  printed 
sermons.  You  cannot  read  Dickens  without  hat- 
ing meanness  and  hypocrisy  and  loving  human 
kindness,  without  a  quickening  pity  for  the  under- 
dog. There  are  many  writers  of  fiction  today  who 
are  putting  Christ's  social  teachings  on  the  king- 
dom of  God  into  their  stories.  God  still  speaks  in 
divers  ways  through  men. 

All  that  is  said  of  the  power  of  general  litera- 
ture does  not  disparage  that  which  we  think  of  as 
specifically  religious  literature.  The  point  is  that 
we  must  appreciate  the  religious  potentialities  of 
all  literature  that  takes  life  in  truly  spiritual 
terms ;  this  u  the  test  to  be  applied  to  the  religious 
and  the  so-called  secular  both.  And  then  to  see 
that  whoever  reads  this  literature  and  feels  its 
stimulus  is  being  brought  under  an  influence  of 
religious  education.  Wherever  the  church  uses  the 
printed  page  she  is  establishing  new  messengers ; 

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THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

she  is  extending  her  ministry  of  teaching  and 
preaching.  The  library  book  in  the  home  may  be 
as  though  the  wise  and  good  pastor  dwelt  there 
as  a  friend  and  daily  counsellor. 

The  library  serves  the  religious  purpose  by 
extending  the  period  of  teaching.  We  recognize 
the  insufficiency  of  the  present  brief  period,  once 
a  week.  The  time  is  coming  when  we  will  have 
more  time  for  regular  class  teaching.  But  with- 
out waiting  for  that  desirable  day  we  may  have 
now  much  more  time  for  teaching.  We  may  enter 
into  the  pupils '  homes  and  our  teaching,  usually  in 
far  better  and  more  attractive  forms  than  we  can 
put  it,  will  be  readily  received  by  them  hour  after 
hour.  The  book  can  go  where  the  teacher  cannot ; 
it  can  stay  longer  and  count  for  more.  It  does  not 
supplant  the  teacher — nothing  can  supplant  per- 
sonality— but  it  does  complement  and  carry  for- 
ward the  teaching  all  through  the  week. 

The  library  helps  the  school  to  overcome  an- 
other of  its  limitations;  it  extends  its  teaching 
corps  to  include  all  the  great  teachers  of  all  times. 
The  school  finds  its  work  seriously  hindered  by 
a  lack  of  trained  teachers.  The  library  sends 
great  teachers,  by  the  pupil's  hands,  into  his  home 
to  be  his  friends  and  guides  through  many  pleas- 
ant hours.  It  takes  a  new  school-force  into  the 
home  and  furnishes  perennially  attractive  teach- 
ers to  the  child.  It  enlists  into  the  teaching  force 
of  the  school  the  authors  whose  presence  would 
make  a  red-letter  day  in  any  school  and  they  be- 
come the  every-day  teachers  of  these  children. 
They  include  the  world's  great  religious  leaders. 

200 


THE  LIBRARY  OF  THE  SCHOOL 

Such  teachers  become  real  friends.  Blessed  be 
the  library  that  leads  to  buying  books !  Whoever 
has  found  a  great  teacher  in  the  pages  of  print  is 
not  satisfied  until  that  house  of  a  great  soul  is 
set  on  a  shelf  close  to  his  hand,  ready  at  his  call 
at  any  moment. 

The  library  gives  direction  to  religious  teaching. 
We  cannot  always  know  what  the  teacher  in  the 
class  is  actually  teaching;  but  we  can  be  sure  of 
the  content  of  books.  Their  message  is  always  the 
same,  and  yet  with  the  prophetic  books  it  is  new 
to  every  age.  This  opportunity  of  selecting  the 
material  is  also  the  opportunity  of  determining 
the  reading  habit.  A  good  hbrary  exists  prin- 
cipally to  establish  in  lives  the  habits  of  drinking 
at  the  world's  great  wells  of  refreshing.  The 
school  library  working  to  this  end  seeks  to  secure 
the  religious  result  of  persons  who  know  where 
the  food  of  the  spirit  may  be  found  and  who  de- 
light to  obtain  it. 

The  library  pushes  hack  the  walls  of  every-day 
life.  Do  you  appreciate  what  an  enriching  comes 
to  lives  from  the  world  of  books?  The  enlarged 
horizons,  the  lofty  friendships  and  the  heightened 
ideals  all  make  themselves  the  joy  of  youth-life 
through  the  printed  page.  This  solace  and 
strength  of  books  our  hurried  age  greatly  needs. 
Perhaps  the  need  is  greater  than  we  realize  in  the 
city.  Here  the  child  life  is  shut  off  from  the  great 
open  book  of  the  fields  and  the  woods.  It  is  a  bar- 
ren picture  of  life  which  they  get  from  brick  walls 
and  hard  pavements,  from  the  hurry  and  noise  of 
congested  living.    Surely  if  any  need  to  withdraw 

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THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

at  times  to  quiet  fields  of  thought  and  to  levels  of 
wider  vision,  it  is  those  who  dwell  in  cities. 

But  wherever  folks  are  living  they  need  these 
treasures  of  a  higher  life.  If  we  know  where  liv- 
ing waters  are  we  must  show  them  the  paths  there. 

Imagine  a  room  in  your  church  devoted  to  the 
library.  Shelves  are  all  around  the  room  and 
built  out  into  alcoves  between  the  windows.  On 
these  shelves  are  books  in  number  four  times  the 
number  of  pupils  in  the  school ;  to  these  new  books 
are  added  at  the  rate  of  about  ten  per  cent  each 
year.  The  room  is  well  lighted  by  day  and  every 
night.  It  is  comfortable  and  cheerful.  It  is  open 
every  afternoon  and  every  night,  while  some  one 
is  in  charge  at  all  times.  Tables  for  reading  and 
comfortable  chairs  are  there.  The  ^^ Silence"  rule 
is  in  force  only  at  certain  specified  hours.  On 
some  afternoons  a  story-telling  hour  is  conducted, 
on  others  mothers'  clubs  meet  here  and  use  the 
books.  Any  one  at  any  time  may  come  in  and  take 
a  book  from  the  shelf  and  spend  an  hour  in  read- 
ing. The  books  may  be  taken  home  under  the  usual 
conditions.  Modem  helpful  periodicals  are  on 
hand.  Do  you  not  see  the  groups  of  people,  young 
and  old,  forming  the  habit  of  spending  an  hour 
here?  Would  you  count  the  space  of  that  room 
wasted?  Would  the  more  frequent  touch  with  the 
church  and  the  consciousness  of  some  gratitude  to 
her  have  any  influence  on  those  using  the  library? 
Would  not  such  service  be  a  real  ministry  to  the 
life  of  the  spirit  and  might  it  not,  at  least  for  some 
of  the  youth,  be  a  step  toward  the  solution  of  the 
problem  of  their  leisure  hours  ? 

202 


THE  LIBEAEY  OF  THE  SCHOOL 

Is  not  the  school  library  a  neglected  opportunity 
of  religious  education,  waiting  only  those  who  have 
the  vision  of  a  school  extending  itself  into  all  the 
lives  of  all  its  people!  In  every  community  there 
are  hundreds  of  barren  homes ;  there  are  hundreds 
of  children  hemmed  in  by  petty  things  of  every- 
day living,  whose  lives  are  filled  with  the  ephe- 
meral, the  tinsel  and  show  of  our  boasted  triviali- 
ties of  civilization.  Yet  they  hunger  for  the  world 
of  ideals  and  if  they  find  it  not  in  our  offerings 
seek  it  in  other  ways,  the  printed  page  of  sensa- 
tion and  delusion,  the  exciting  spectacle  or  fever- 
ish amusement.  Save  for  the  few  hours  when 
church  and  school  reach  a  few  of  them  they  are 
as  sheep  without  a  shepherd.  And  the  green  pas- 
tures are  so  near,  so  many  and  so  rich,  if  we  would 
but  take  time  to  lead  them. 

Can  we  look  beyond  the  minutes  of  teaching  into 
all  the  hours  of  a  pupil's  life  and  beyond  the  peda- 
gogy of  spoken  words  into  the  teaching  power  of 
a  book  that  speaks  like  a  friend  and  the  picture 
that  prints  its  own  story  on  memory  1  To  think 
of  pupils  in  all  their  hours  and  all  their  needs  will 
help  us  to  see  the  library  as  one  of  the  school's 
great  agencies  of  extension. 

GETTING  EESULTS  OUT  OF  THE  WOEKER's  LIBEAEY 

One  of  the  greater  denominations  in  the  United 
States  now  requires  all  its  Sunday-school  workers 
—called  *' Directors  of  Religious  Education"— to 
give  evidence  every  year  of  a  certain  amount  of 
reading  in  prescribed  books  dealing  with  their 

203 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

work.  Some  Sunday  schools  set  up  a  similar 
standard  for  their  teachers,  though  few  insist  on 
the  standard  being  reached. 

No  one  doubts  that  the  efficiency  of  teachers, 
other  things  being  equal,  is  in  the  measure  of 
their  intelligent  acquaintance  with  the  best  ideals 
and  methods.  Their  ^^ reach''  of  power  depends 
on  their  reach  of  interest  and  knowledge,  on  their 
getting  out  mentally  into  the  activities  of  other 
schools  and  into  touch  with  experienced  workers. 

The  Workers'  Library  gives  them  a  chance  to 
do  this;  every  up-to-date  school,  no  matter  how 
small,  has  at  least  a  few  really  modern  books  on 
the  methods  and  ideals  of  Sunday-school  work, 
books  written  within  the  past  eight  years  or  so. 
The  trouble  is  that  many  of  these  books  lie  wast- 
ing their  usefulness  on  dusty  shelves ;  the  problem 
is  to  get  the  good  in  the  books  working  in  the 
minds  and  methods  of  the  teachers. 

We  might  as  well  face  two  facts  that  seem,  in 
a  measure,  to  offset  each  other.  First,  every  good 
teacher  is  a  busy  person.  No  really  useful  per- 
son has  idle  time  on  his  hands  today.  We  must 
go  slow  in  suggesting  additional  duties.  Second, 
when  one  accepts  the  teacher's  task,  he  accepts 
the  teacher's  duties  and  one  of  the  first  of  these 
is  to  learn.  No  one  can  teach  who  will  not  take 
the  time  to  learn.  Not  to  learn  the  lesson  only, 
but  to  learn  the  science  that  is  wedded  to  the  art 
of  teaching. 

The  learning,  for  the  teacher,  can  come  through 
classes  for  some ;  but  there  are  many  who  simply 
cannot  take  another  meeting  on  their  schedule. 

204 


THE  LIBRAEY  OF  THE  SCHOOL 

But  they  do  have  short  periods,  half -hours,  when 
they  might  study,  if  only  their  study  could  be  di- 
rected for  them. 

At  least  two  plans  are  possible.  Both  have  been 
in  use  in  schools,  and  in  some  both  can  be  used  at 
the  same  time.  Both  have  the  same  aim.  to  get 
teachers  and  workers  to  go  to  the  books  in  search 
of  definite  help  and  to  follow  up  their  reading  in 
definite  ways.  They  seek  to  demonstrate  the  value 
of  books  at  particular  points  rather  than  to  per- 
suade to  general  reading. 

Both  plans  will  be  worked  best  in  the  hands  of 
the  right  kind  of  a  person  made  responsible  for 
them,  rather  than  as  an  extra  duty  laid  on  the 
superintendent  or  the  pastor.  In  nearly  any  com- 
munity it  is  really  easy  to  find  a  man  or  woman 
who  is  thoroughly  interested  in  education.  The 
writer  has  so  far  failed  to  find  an  instance  in  which 
either  the  local  superintendent  of  schools,  or  the 
principal  could  not  be  interested  in  this  ques- 
tion: How  can  we  improve  the  teaching  in  our 
Sunday  schools  by  getting  the  teachers  to  read 
educational  material! 

Having  enlisted  such  a  man,  or  woman,  get  him 
to  pick  out  a  chapter  in  some  book — it  may  be  dif- 
ferent chapters  dealing  with  the  same  problem  in 
several  books — and  prepare  a  very  brief  analysis 
of  the  chapter,  showing  particularly  how  it  deals 
with  a  specific,  concrete  problem  in  teaching  or  in 
administration.  Then  send  copies  of  his  short 
statement  to  each  teacher,  or  officer,  as  the  case 
may  be,  with  this  sort  of  a  request:  ^'Please  read 
the  chapter  very  carefully;  think  it  over  in  the 

205 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

light  of  the  problem  suggested,  and  try  it  out ;  see 
how  it  works ;  see  whether  the  author  is  right.  At 
the  end  of  this  month  let  us  know  what  you  think 
about  it."  The  ^^let  us  know''  may  be,  as  may 
seem  best,  by  letter  or  in  a  monthly  conference. 

The  main  point  of  the  plan  is  that  a  very  defi- 
nite problem,  one  that  is  real  to  the  worker,  is  sug- 
gested, and  he  is  expected  to  try  out  the  theory 
of  the  book  in  practice.  If  the  desired  response 
does  not  come  in  letter  or  at  a  conference,  then 
the  director  of  this  work  will  seek  out  the  teacher 
and  personally  check  up  on  the  reading.  Taking 
one  problem  after  another  it  will  not  take  long 
to  get  the  very  heart  out  of  a  book.  Moreover, 
every  teacher  who  finds  help  at  one  point  will  read 
through  for  further  help. 

The  other  plan  is  similar,  but  seems  to  require 
less  machinery.  At  regular  intervals,  say  every 
other  Sunday,  the  Director  of  Teacher-Training, 
or  the  Superintendent,  should  put  up  a  ' 'Bulletin" 
where  every  teacher  will  see  it.  This  will  read 
something  like  this :  *^How  Can  I  Get  Better  Home 
Study? — Blank  in  ^Sunday  School  Ideals'  an- 
swers that  at  Chapter  Six — Read  that  chapter." 
So  with  many  other  practical  problems.  Suppose 
the  Bulletin  could  get  only  half  the  teachers  to 
read  Bagley's  three  chapters  on  ^'Interest"  in  his 
*' Classroom  Management,"  a  really  valuable  ac- 
complishment would  have  been  reached  for  that 
school. 

But  the  Bulletins  will  not  work  of  themselves. 
In  many  schools  they  must  go  to  the  teachers  by 
means  of  post-cards.    In  large  schools  the  topics 

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THE  LIBEAEY  OF  THE  SCHOOL 

will  have  to  be  selected  according  to  departments 
or  there  would  not  be  enough  books  to  go  round. 
In  every  case  the  invitation  to  reading  must  be 
followed  up.  Under  the  post-card  bulletin  plan  a 
space  may  be  left  on  the  card  in  which  the  teacher 
will  check  the  fact  that  the  passage  has  been  read. 
But  the  principal  pressure  to  secure  reading 
must  be  that  of  interest,  based  on  recognized 
needs.  Make  sure  that  teachers  know  their  actual 
problems  are  discussed  in  the  books ;  help  them  to 
think  of  the  contents  of  the  books,  not  as  a  solid 
bulk  of  the  whole  book,  but  as  parts  meeting  their 
specific  needs.  And  then  be  sure  there  is  ample 
opportunity  for  them  to  discuss  their  attempts  to 
work  the  book  advice  into  actual  use. 


207 


CHAPTER  XIY 
THE  SCHOOL  TRAINING  FOR  SERVICE 

I.      THE  VISION-  OF  THE  TASK 

OiTE  of  the  most  encouraging  signs  in  the  life  of 
the  church  today  is  a  larger  and  more  comprehen- 
sive vision  of  its  task.  Canon  Freemantle  a  num- 
ber of  years  ago  wrote  a  book  entitled  *^The 
World,  the  Object  of  Eedemption'';  the  church  is 
taking  that  phrase  as  its  slogan.  It  is  evident  that 
the  details  that  have  engrossed  our  attenion^  such 
as  pew-rents,  pastor's  salary,  pulpit  furniture, 
etc.,  will  all  take  care  of  themselves  when  the  wider 
work  is  undertaken  seriously.  The  regeneration 
of  humanity  and  the  reconstruction  of  society  con- 
stitutes an  undertaking  too  broad  for  a  group  of 
narrow-minded  persons,  but  wherever  churches 
are  catching  this  vision  men  are  seeing  that  there 
is  a  man's  work  for  a  man  in  the  church  and  a 
full-sized  task  for  every  man.  It  may  be  a  sim- 
ple matter  to  maintain  here  and  there  preaching 
and  praying  stations,  but  to  push  the  force  of  the 
church  through  all  society,  to  lift  the  world's 
ideals,  to  change  its  motives  and  to  bring  it  to  a 
new  life,  is  a  work  so  great  as  to  call  for  heroic 
service.  •  Men  are  ready  to  answer  that  call ;  they 
are  waiting  for  it.    But  there  is  need  of  a  new 

208 


THE  SCHOOL  TEAINING-  FOE  SEEVICE 

type  of  heroism,  a  type  that  hesitates  not  to  toil 
and  suffer  in  order  to  be  technically  trained  and 
efficient. 

The  church  must  train  its  workers.  It  has  no 
right  to  ask  men  to  do  things  unless  it  is  willing 
to  show  them  how  they  are  to  be  done.  If  the 
minister  of  the  church  demands  the  energies  of  all 
its  men  and  women  it  must  develop  for  their 
trained  powers  for  that  ministry.  Where  shall 
they  be  trained? 

The  training  of  any  man  or  woman  for  an  under- 
taking so  tremendous  in  its  possibilities  and  broad 
in  its  scope  as  this  cannot  be  done  by  a  series  of 
sketchy  sermons  nor  in  a  brief  course  of  half  a 
dozen  lectures  or  studies.  As  a  matter  of  fact  it 
takes  a  life-time  to  produce  a  life  equipped 
for  God's  service;  we  cannot  wait  for  perfection, 
but  to  do  the  best  we  can,  we  had  better  begin  early 
the  training  of  his  servants,  and  the  earliest  be- 
ginnings are  with  children. 

The  church  school  is  the  specific  agency  of  the 
church  for  the  training  of  all  its  workers.  The 
school  must  set  before  itself  this  definite  duty  of 
preparing  boys  and  girls,  men  and  women,  as  in- 
telligent, efficient  workers  in  the  kingdom.  No  one 
who  knows  the  Sunday-school  world  today  will  ac- 
cuse its  people  of  general  indifference,  but  the 
accusation  of  indirection  would  hold.  "We  are  not 
yet  quite  sure  what  we  are  trying  to  do  in  the 
school.  Many  schools  are  apparently  organized 
for  the  purpose  of  training  theologians  and 
exegetical  experts.  Whatever  else  may  come  ulti- 
mately clearly  into  the  field  of  vision  of  Sunday- 

209 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

scliool  workers,  may  we  not  take  this  as  one  of 
the  specific  things  that  can  be  done,  namely,  the 
religious  education  of  boys  and  girls  so  that  they 
are  desirous  to  do  and  capable  of  doing  the  work 
of  the  kingdom  and  through  the  church? 

Of  course  it  is  a  good  thing  for  children  to  study 
the  Bible,  but  if  its  text  is  in  itself  the  object,  you 
find  great  difficulty  in  persuading  the  boy  of  the 
value  of  the  class  exercise.  Take  the  boy  of  fif- 
teen; Golden  Texts  are  a  bore,  but  speak  to  him 
of  some  detail  of  the  Golden  Age  and  he  responds 
with  enthusiasm.  Boys  and  girls,  men  and  women 
are  hungry  to  do  things  that  are  worth  the  doing. 
There  will  be  no  trouble  either  in  enlisting  their 
interest  or  in  securing  their  energies  if  we  but  set 
out  definitely  to  show  them  how  to  do  any  great 
work.  The  way  of  saving  society  and  making  this 
world  an  ideal  kingdom  may  be  made  definite  and 
simple  for  them.  Two  things  are  needed:  first, 
that  all  teachers  and  officers  shall  catch  the  vision 
of  the  greatness  of  the  work,  that  somehow  they 
shall  see,  through  the  trees  to  the  forest,  through 
the  petty  details  to  the  divine  proportions  of  this 
whole  business  of  saving  a  world  in  which  the 
church  is  engaged;  and,  second,  that  the  school 
shall  begin  at  some  definite  point  actually  to  train 
boys  and  girls,  men  and  women  for  a  part  in  this 
magnificent  enterprise.  The  way  to  begin  is  to 
begin.  Take  whatever  group  you  can  and  begin 
to  study  whatever  they  most  need  to  know  in  rela- 
tion to  this  work.  If  they  are  men,  then  begin  to 
study  the  church,  briefly  its  history,  more  fully  its 
activities,  very   carefully  its  local   organization, 

210 


THE  SCHOOL  TKAININa  FOR  SERVICE 

duties  of  officers,  and  its  place  in  the  life  of  the 
community.  That  will  lead  out  to  studying  social 
conditions,  philanthropies  and  world-wide  work. 
If  they  are  boys  or  girls,  then  you  must  ask,  what 
are  the  things  that  boys  and  girls  are  interested 
in,  where  does  the  kingdom  touch  them,  and  what 
are  the  things  they  can  do? 

The  school  for  youth  is  the  church  in  the  mak- 
ing. What  it  is  today  the  church  will  be  tomorrow. 
If  there  are  men  and  women  in  the  church  who  do 
not  understand  its  business,  who  are  therefore 
unwilling  to  attempt  its  duties  it  is  in  no  small 
measure  because  when  they  were  in  the  mentally 
acquisitive  stage  they  were  not  made  acquainted 
with  its  organization  and  operations.  One  can 
almost  always  trace  failure  in  individuals  either 
to  a  lack  of  native  ability  or  to  a  lack  in  adequacy 
or  in  timeliness  of  preparation.  It  is  not  possible 
to  go  back  and  remedy  these  defects  in  today ^s 
men  and  women ;  there  is  no  such  a  thing  as  post 
preparation.  But  the  church  can  provide  for  to- 
morrow ;  it  can  furnish  for  every  coming  man  and 
woman  a  period  of  apprenticeship  to  its  compre- 
hensive task. 

Now  such  an  apprenticeship  will  mean  a  good 
deal  more  than  formal  instruction.  It  will  mean 
participation  in  the  work  itself.  Boys  and  girls 
under  the  direction  of  the  school  will  begin  to  do 
those  things  which  they  can  do  for  the  church. 
It  is  necessary  to  discover  just  how  many  things 
there  are  that  boys  and  girls  could  do  by  way  of 
active  participation  in  church  service  and  so  by 
that  participation  accomplish  two  highly  desirable 

211 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

and  related  ends,  namely,  give  natural  spontane- 
ous expression  in  action  to  their  religious  life, 
and  secure  through  doing,  training  toward  effi- 
ciency in  religious  service.  In  view  of  the  great 
business  of  the  church  what  can  it  do  better  now 
than  furnish  apprenticeship  experience  through 
the  school  to  those  who  must  do  its  work? 


n.      TRAINING  YOUTH   IN   CHUECH   WOEK 

If  we  approach  the  problem  of  enlisting  workers 
for  the  church  rather  practically  we  might  ask. 
How  do  persons  give  themselves  to  other  forms  of 
voluntary  service*?  For  example,  how  does  the 
young  man  give  himself  to  the  service  of  the  com- 
munity and  the  state  1  Examining  with  some  care 
the  steps  taken  by  youths,  one  is  led  to  believe  that 
the  response  which  expresses  itself  in  political  and 
civic  interests,  while  it  is  a  part  of  the  social 
awakening,  rises  particularly  out  of  appreciation 
of  the  reality  of  the  civic  life.  The  young  lad  who 
has  known  the  streets  and  the  city  life  as  a  boy's 
experience  readily  realizes  how  immediately  they 
depend  on  civic  affairs.  Politics  comes  out  of  the 
realm  of  theory  into  the  living  real. 

But  why  are  they  real!  Because  they  are  part 
of  his  life,  of  everyday  experience.  And  why  are 
they  vital  to  him?  Because  his  awakened  sense 
of  society  reveals  their  importance;  he  is  begin- 
ning to  see  how  they  affect  the  welfare  of  people, 
how  they  determine  the  growth  of  society  toward 
its  ideals.    He  could  not — or  would  not — tell  you 

212 


THE  SCHOOL  TRAINING  FOR  SERVICE 

this.  But  these  are  the  processes  usually  taking 
place  in  his  mind. 

Does  this  mean  anything  to  the  church?  Does 
it  not  mean  that  youth  must  have  tJie  sense  of  so- 
cial reality  in  the  work  of  the  church?  By  this  is 
meant  that  he  must  feel  that  in  the  church  is  one 
of  the  social  groupings  of  which  he  is  a  part,  in 
its  work  there  is  that  which  must  be  done  and  that 
which  he  may  do  as  his  part  in  society.  To  this 
is  added  the  deeper  significance  that,  in  the  church, 
life  is  viewed  in  religious  terms.  The  work  is  of 
larger  importance  because  it  is  that  of  a  society 
organized  for  the  spiritual  life. 

Now  what  does  the  youth  do  in  response  to  his 
civic  quickening?  That  is  the  vital  question.  The 
trouble  is  that  he  so  often  does  nothing,  because 
nothing  is  presented  which  he  can  do.  If  some 
task  appears,  if  somewhere  there  is  that  which  hisi 
hands  can  grasp  he  may  go  on  to  give  a  very  large 
part  of  his  life  in  service;  he  may  be  either  the 
devoted  civic  servant  or  the  professional  politi- 
cian. The  task  is  here  the  vital  thing.  But  * ^  task' ' 
is  the  wrong  word ;  it  must  be  opportunity  in  the 
form  of  activity.  The  sense  of  reality  and  of 
belonging  are  quickened  and  maintained  by  par- 
ticipation. In  a  church  that  has  a  real  life  toward 
the  community  the  interest  of  youth  is  sure  to  de- 
velop ;  the  vital  question  for  us  is,  have  we  an  op- 
portunity of  service  for  him? 

Youth  is  the  time  of  opportunity  as  to  service. 
They  are  making  their  vocational  choices  and  their 
avocational  choices,  too.  They  are  eager  to  do 
things,  things  that  give  them  a  chance  to  express 

213 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

those  ideals  that  youth  is  ever  reluctant  to  put 
into  words.  The  problem  of  the  church  is  not  that 
of  distributing  the  offices  among  the  aged  saints, 
but  that  of  so  ministering  to  life  that  there  is  a 
place  of  service  for  every  one  who  wishes  to  min- 
ister. But,  remember,  youth  will  wait  to  be  asked ; 
it  is  modest  as  to  its  own  powers.  The  way  must 
be  pointed  out  and  the  first  step  guided. 

What  are  the  hinds  of  service  which  youth  can 
undertake!  It  might  seem  that  a  helpful  answer 
here  would  be  in  the  form  of  an  enumeration  of 
the  specific  offices  and  duties.  But  such  a  list 
would  be  misleading.  Even  if  it  were  fairly  ac- 
curate it  would  hinder  rather  than  help,  simply 
because  one  cannot  lead  into  such  service  unless 
he  is  able  to  see  the  forms  of  service  which  prop- 
erly arise  out  of  his  own  church  and  which  prop- 
erly belong  to  different  classes  of  workers.  The 
forms  of  service  depend  on  the  very  life  which  the 
group,  the  church,  is  living.  They  are  not 
'^stunts;''  they  are  normal  expressions  of  life, 
and  therefore  they  grow  out  of  social  conditions 
and  needs,  out  of  special  realizations  of  ideals,  out 
of  the  stages  of  development  of  persons  and  of 
the  church. 

One  factor  in  developing  the  sense  of  reality  in 
work  is  that  whatever  is  done  shall  point  to  some 
definite  purpose.  It  must  have  some  of  the  char- 
acter of  an  enterprise.  It  must  be  seen  as  a  part 
of  the  realization  of  some  purpose  or  ideal.  This 
will  suggest  that,  especially  for  younger  persons, 
group  enterprises  are  desirable.  That  which 
needs  to  be  done  can  be  presented  as  an  oppor- 

214 


THE  SCHOOL  TEAINING  FOR  SERVICE 

tunity  to  a  group.  Some  forms  of  individual  ser- 
vice need  explanation  in  order  that  their  contri- 
bution to  ideal  ends  may  be  clear;  this  is  espe- 
cially true  of  what  may  be  called  permanent  rou- 
tine. 

The  sense  of  reality  depends  in  part  on  instruc- 
tion. Work  must  be  intelligent.  The  invitation  to 
activity  merely  for  the  sake  of  exercise  will  profit 
little.  Young  people  have  in  civic  affairs  the 
marked  advantage  of  rather  thorough  instruc- 
tion. They  learn  not  only  the  government  of  the 
state  but  also  the  nature  and  affairs  of  their  city 
or  village.  That  instruction  comes  best  at  a  time 
when  the  active  powers  can  go  into  the  life  of  the 
community.  So  with  the  church,  along  with  and 
largely  growing  out  of  the  experience  of  doing 
things  in  its  social  life  should  come  the  explana- 
tion of  that  life. 

We  cannot  expect  intelligent  work  in  a  church 
from  those  who  do  not  know  what  a  church  really 
is.  But  this  is  precisely  the  condition  of  by  far 
the  greater  number  of  church  members.  They 
have  never  received  instruction  as  to  the  nature 
of  a  church,  its  form  of  social  organization,  the 
principles  underlying  its  forms  of  work.  To  them 
that  which  it  does  is  either  accepted  blindly,  tra- 
ditionally, or  is  seen  only  as  to  immediate  pur- 
poses. Somewhere  in  the  life  of  youth  the  ex- 
perience of  living  in  the  church  society  must  re- 
ceive illumination.  It  must  become  an  intelligent 
experience. 

The  instruction  that  is  necessary  cannot  be  re- 
garded simply  as  a  new  subject  to  be  added  to  the 

215 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODEEN  CHURCH 

curriculum  of  the  Sunday  school.  A  single  course 
in  civics  will  not  make  the  citizen.  The  intelligent 
church  worker  grows  up  through  a  developing  ex- 
perience which  is  illuminated  by  developing  in- 
struction. All  through  our  course  of  lessons, 
through  every  grade,  we  need  a  keener  conscious- 
ness of  an  application  to  the  reality  of  life  which 
would  include  this  reality  of  the  church  and  its 
work.  "We  need  explicit  instruction  in  the  art  of 
living  in  a  religious  society,  a  course  which  would 
include  all  the  active  life  of  the  church. 


ni.      THE  SCHOOL  AS  A  TEAINING  AGENCY 

The  more  fully  the  church  enters  into  her  pres- 
ent-day task  the  more  clearly  she  realizes  two 
great  needs:  that  of  an  educated,  adequately- 
trained  leadership,  and  that  of  a  trained,  compe- 
tent laity.  The  second  need  is  not  less  than  the 
first.  No  matter  how  devoted  and  expert  the  min- 
ister may  be  he  cannot  do  all  the  work  of  a  church. 
His  capable  leadership  may  go  for  naught  if  those 
who  are  to  follow  cannot  understand  his  methods 
or  are  incapable  of  carrying  out  his  plans.  The 
very  large  and  growing  investment  which  the 
church  communion  properly  makes  in  the  training 
of  a  leadership  may  be  largely  wasted  unless  there 
is  proper  provision  to  train  efficient  followers. 

No  one  who  knows  the  life  of  the  churches  can 
doubt  that  those  which  have  entered  on  their  mod- 
em task  have  a  new  era  of  greatly  extended  power 
before  them.  They  have  passed  from  being  only 
preaching  stations  to  become  community  forces 

216 


THE  SCHOOL  TRAINING  FOE  SERVICE 

with  a  recognized  function  in  the  life  of  today. 
The  modern  church  has  not  lost  out  and  it  is  not 
looking  around  for  a  job.  It  has  so  clear  and  so 
large  a  task  that  its  greatest  need  is  that  of  com- 
petent workers. 

The  training  of  the  lay  workers  takes  on  an 
aspect  of  new  importance  when  we  realize  how 
essential  that  training  is  to  their  own  growth  as 
religious  persons.  Religious  education  must  in- 
clude training  in  living,  in  doing;  it  must  bring 
into  its  disciplines  all  the  active  powers  of  every 
life.  No  one  can  be  like  Christ  who  does  not  so 
learn  to  live  his  life  as  to  do  his  work.  The  very 
life  of  the  church  also  demands  this.  It  is  not  a 
matter  of  finding  tasks  which  will  interest  people 
and  so  hold  them ;  it  is  a  matter  of  finding,  in  the 
experience  of  the  church,  the  opportunity  for  each 
one  to  engage  all  his  powers  in  religion,  in  re- 
ligion as  an  experience  which  is  lived  and  becomes 
a  part  of  life's  work,  of  its  reality. 

TRAINING  CHURCH  WORKERS 

Teacher-training  has  been  the  answer  of  the 
church  to  the  call  for  an  efficient  laity  for  one 
form  of  work.  But  there  are  many  other  duties 
in  the  church  which  require  trained  and  expert 
powers.  Perhaps  none  is  more  immediately  im- 
portant than  that  of  teaching;  but  many  are 
equally  vital  to  the  maintainence  of  the  general 
work  of  the  church.  Teacher-training  ought  to  be 
but  one  aspect  of  a  general  program  of  church- 
officer  training.    We  would  do  well  to  recognize 

217 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODEEN  CHUECH 

that  no  official  duty  in  a  chnrcli  can  be  slighted, 
that  none  can  be  regarded  as  though  it  made  no 
difference  whether  or  not  it  were  preperly  dis- 
charged. 

The  offices  in  a  church  are  not  honorary  posi- 
tions, awarded  as  flattering  marks  of  esteem ;  they 
are  posts  of  duty  which  call  for  the  highest  devo- 
tion, application  and  skill.  To  get  this  view  clear- 
ly established  will  be  the  first  step  toward  the 
training  of  officers.  The  greater  the  call  which 
the  office  makes  for  devotion  and  sacrifice,  the 
greater  its  demands  on  one's  powers,  the  more 
attractive  it  will  be  to  those  who  can  be  trained 
and  the  clearer  will  be  their  recognition  of  the 
need  of  training.  Eeally  magnify  the  offices  and 
the  greatness  of  the  task  will  bring  to  them  the 
best  men  and  women,  the  ones  who  will  seek  to 
grow  fit. 

A  great  task  always  appeals  to  youth ;  they  are 
looking  for  the  high  things  to  do.  We  deprive 
them  of  one  of  their  largest  opportunities  when 
we  reserve  the  offices  for  the  aged.  We  too 
commonly  assume  that  one  cannot  serve  the  king- 
dom officially  until  his  powers  are  declining.  Some 
of  the  present  fixtures  have  been  in  office  ever 
since  they  were  young.  The  church  fears  to  change 
for  two  reasons :  it  might  hurt  the  fixture 's  feel- 
ings— as  though  so  wooden  a  thing  as  a  fixture 
could  have  any  feelings ;  and  a  change  might  bring 
in  a  novice.  But  novices  are  needed  in  all  pro- 
gressive work.  New  blood  must  come  in,  bring- 
ing new  life  and  new  vision.    Every  occupation 

218 


THE  SCHOOL  TEAINING  FOE  SERVICE 

must  have  apprentices.    All  the  experts  were  once 
novices. 


THE  CHUKCH   SCHOOL  FURNISHES  THE  WOKKERS 

If  the  church  of  tomorrow  is  to  have  an  efficient 
officiary  she  must  look  for  it  in  the  young  people 
of  today.  The  time  to  pick  out  the  officers  of  the 
church  is  long  before  they  can  hold  office.  Then 
help  them  to  see  the  dignity  and  worth  of  a  re- 
ligious avocation.  Help  them  to  hear  its  high 
call.  An  efficient  church  makes  efficient  workers 
by  its  constant  preaching  of  the  worth  of  church 
work. 

Train  your  young  people  by  work.  The  way  to 
learn  to  swim  is  to  get  into  the  water ;  the  way  to 
teach  church  work  is  to  put  them  into  the  work. 
Give  them  experience  before  you  give  them  text- 
books. Trying  to  do  a  thing  is  the  best  teacher  of 
the  need  of  training.  The  work  itself,  when  under 
direction,  is  the  best  form  of  training. 

Young  people  are  capable  of  much  more  than 
we  commonly  expect  of  them.  Sometimes  we  com- 
plain that  they  seem  to  be  irresponsible,  but  have 
we  ever  laid  on  them  real  responsibilities?  Give 
a  young  man  a  real  task,  lay  on  him  a  heavy  load 
so  that  he  will  know  you  are  not  ^  ^making-believe ' ' 
to  keep  him  amused,  and  you  will  find  his  back 
stiffen  and  his  lips  tighten  up  as  he  buckles  to 
meet  your  expectations. 

We  have  had  too  much  make-believe  for  young 
people.  They  soon  tire  of  the  petty  offices  in 
play-societies;  they  know  they  are  not  the  real 

219 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODEEN  CHUECH 

thing.  Making  a  young  man  the  presiding  genius 
of  a  dolPs  house  does  not  prepare  him  for  parent- 
hood. What  does  prepare  him,  then!  Sharing 
the  responsibilities  of  the  home  as  the  friend  and 
companion  of  Father  and  Mother.  This  is  the 
best  preparation  of  all.  Eesponsibilities  make 
people  responsible.  But  what  of  their  lack  of  ex- 
perience 1  Experience  can  be  gained  only  through 
experiencing.  The  only  way  to  have  experienced 
workers  is  to  give  them  the  experience  while  they 
are  most  capable  of  profiting  by  it. 

Of  course  we  would  not  turn  out  all  the  older 
officers.  But  in  many  instances  it  would  be  pos- 
sible for  officers  to  take  an  associate,  a  younger 
person  who  would  work  with  him,  sharing  the 
labor  and  the  honor  and  becoming  proficient 
through  experience. 

With  the  experience  instruction  should  go.  In 
the  church  school  young  people  are  drilled  in  the 
details  of  the  work  of  the  tabernacle,  the  duties 
of  priests  and  Levites  while  they  remain  abso- 
lutely without  instruction  on  the  work  of  the 
church  today.  Is  it  because  we  believe  the  taber- 
nacle was  more  religious  than  the  church?  Do 
we  not  see  that  if  we  might  have  regular  instruc- 
tion in  the  work  of  a  modern  church  given  to 
young  men  and  women  these  things  would  follow ; 
to  them  religion  in  action  would  be  more  real, 
immediate  and  possible  as  an  experience;  we 
would  have  more  persons  ready  to  do  church  work, 
and  we  would  have  better  workers,  persons  who 
had  learned  this  great  task  as  they  would  learn 
any  other  great  task. 

220 


THE  SCHOOL  TEAINING  FOR  SERVICE 


THE  ADULT  WORKER 

In  the  first  two  sections  we  have  been  thinking 
of  training  workers  as  a  part  of  the  life  experience 
which  every  one  ought  to  have  in  the  church,  an 
experience  which  would  run  all  through  life.  But 
in  every  church  there  are  many  who  have  arrived 
at  years  of  maturity  without  such  an  experience, 
who  for  their  own  sakes  ought  to  be  sharing  in 
the  activity  of  the  church.  How  can  they  be 
brought  in,  and  how  can  they  be  trained? 

Perhaps  a  prior  question  is :  Is  this  a  duty  for 
the  school?  Yes,  if  we  think  of  this  school  as  the 
school  of  the  religious  life,  if  we  think  out  the 
task  as  that  of  training  in  religious  social  living. 
The  religious  life  cannot  find  fulness  for  any  of 
these  adults  until  they  project  themselves  into  its 
work,  until  they  belong  through  active  coopera- 
tion. Their  life  can  grow  only  as  their  powers 
grow,  and  their  powers  are  retrogressing  if  they 
are  not  being  properly  used. 

For  adults  the  first  need  is  that  of  understand- 
ing and  vision  on  the  duty,  the  function  of  the 
church.  This  should  be  a  part  of  the  proper 
process  of  receiving  and  training  members.  The 
average  adult  has  been  only  partially  received 
into  the  church.  His  name  has  come  in ;  in  a  meas- 
ure his  affections  have  come  in;  but,  commonly, 
his  mind  has  come  in  only  in  part.  He  does  not 
fully  understand  the  church.  His  active  powers 
have  been  but  little  received,  for  they  have  gone 
only  as  far  as  his  knowledge  has  led.  At  least  one 
reason  we  see  so  little  of  people  at  church  is  that 

221 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

so  little  of  them  is  ever  there.  We  have  been  more 
anxious  for  their  names,  their  pledges,  and  their 
presence  than  for  their  whole  selves.  They  can 
come  in  fully  only  as  the  intelligence  comprehends 
the  work  and  nature  of  the  church  and  the  entire 
person,  will,  and  affections  are  freely  given  to  it. 

The  first  step  in  the  training  of  the  adult  must 
lead  him  to  see  just  where  the  church  fits  into 
life's  plan,  just  what  its  purpose  is  and  what  it 
seeks  to  do.  Its  work  must  be  clearly,  evidently, 
intelligently  worth  while.  His  feelings  of  loyalty 
must  be  led  and  strengthened  by  light.  He  needs 
a  deep,  solidly  founded  conviction  as  to  the  defi- 
niteness  of  the  function  of  the  church  in  the  life 
of  today.  He  must  be  instructed  as  to  the  manner 
in  which  that  which  is  done  in  and  by  the  church 
meets  real  social  needs  of  today. 

Meanwhile,  along  with  developing  understand- 
ing, there  has  been  an  enlistment  into  some  forms 
of  activity.  Specific  duties  have  been  undertaken. 
Now  comes  the  opportunity  for  instruction  in 
these  duties.  In  experience  the  worker  finds  his 
weaknesses  and  discovers  difficulties.  Again,  the 
conference  method  of  instruction  would  seem  to 
be  the  best  one.  It  not  only  avoids  the  stumbling 
block  of  formality,  but  by  taking  the  case  method, 
considering  projects  that  are  being  undertaken, 
discussing  each  special  duty  and  difficulty,  it  re- 
lates the  instruction  immediately  to  experience. 

The  danger  of  training  and  instruction  under 
the  discussion  plan  lies  in  the  tendency  to  a  wide- 
spread generalization.  The  discussion  groups  can- 
not cover  the  whole  ground ;  they  must  divide  up 

222 


THE  SCHOOL  TRAINING  FOR  SERVICE 

into  either  fields  of  work  or  types  of  service.  The 
smaller  groups  would  each  then  discuss  its  own 
problems.  The  closer  attention  that  would  be 
given  here  would  naturally  lead  to  a  study  of 
fundamentals,  and  that  would  suggest  to  many  the 
need  for  careful  consecutive  study.  This  may  seem 
a  long  way  to  lead  adults  to  study,  but  it  is  to  be 
doubted  if  any  shorter  way  would  do  any  more 
than  lead  them  to  classes.  The  consciousness  of 
need  has  to  be  developed  and  also  an  understand- 
ing of  the  exact  nature  of  the  need.  You  can  lead 
a  horse  to  a  trough,  but  you  do  not  have  to  lead 
a  thirst  there. 

One  must  not  suppose  that  the  kind  of  study 
courses  here  suggested  require  a  large  amount  of 
elaborate  educational  machinery.  Students  who 
have  come  up  to  the  course  in  the  manner  sug- 
gested need  little  stimulus  from  organization.  An 
occasional  opportunity  to  meet  as  a  class  will  have 
back  of  it  earnest  persons  seriously  reading  in 
their  respective  fields.  The  one  thing  that  is 
needed  is  the  local  general  direction,  and  then  over 
that  the  intelligent  provision  of  suitable  material 
on  the  principles  of  church  work  in  a  community. 

One  form  of  conference  will  be  especially  of  edu- 
cational value — that  is,  that  in  which  those  hav- 
ing similar  tasks  in  different  churches  come  to- 
gether. It  would  help  not  only  to  solve  problems 
but  to  create  pride  in  one's  work  to  meet  and  con- 
verse with  those  doing  like  work  through  a  wide 
area. 

To  have  educational  value  all  work  for  adults 
must  be  in  itself  educational — that  is,  it  must  be 

223 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

part  of  a  program  of  directed  development.  It 
cannot  stand  still.  Each  kind  of  responsibility 
must  lead  to  a  larger  one.  When  expertness  in 
one  duty  is  attained  powers  must  not  atrophy  by 
being  limited  to  that  duty.  Pastors  need  to  look 
often  over  their  workers  to  see  that  they  are  hav- 
ing a  fair  chance  to  grow.  One  form  of  growth 
we  often  overlook :  tliat  which  comes  from  having 
the  responsibilities  of  instruction  placed  upon  us. 
Those  who  know  how  should  teach  those  who  do 
not.  The  younger  workers  should  be  in  training 
under  the  more  experienced  ones ;  both  will  grow 
through  the  relationship. 

If  the  worker  is  to  grow,  his  vision  must  be 
quickened,  he  must  be  stimulated  to  look  beyond 
his  immediate  task  to  the  w^hole  enterprise.  The 
work  must  be  interpreted  to  him  so  that  he  sees 
its  breadth,  its  significance,  and  its  glory.  Unless 
the  minister  in  the  pulpit  is  a  prophet,  unless  he 
is  one  who  so  teaches  that  men  see  the  divine  mean- 
ing of  their  lives,  so  that  they  look  forward  to  a 
divine  social  order,  no  amount  of  instruction  will 
make  efficient  workers.  For  efficiency  is  not  of  the 
hand  or  the  brain  alone ;  it  is  of  the  affections ;  it 
is  strong  and  swift  and  sure  because  it  has  a  vision 
of  far  heights,  of  great  things  to  be  done.  The 
heart  counts  for  quite  as  much  in  one's  work  as 
skill  and  intelligence. 

THE  LAY  worker's  VISION 

One  cannot  say  that  the  difficulty  in  enlisting  the 
services  of  men  and  women  is  due  entirely  to  their 

224 


THE  SCHOOL  TKAININa  FOR  SERVICE 

indifference,  nor  can  the  blame  be  laid  wholly  on 
conditions  that  engross  the  powers  of  men  in  our 
rushing  day,  nor  even  to  a  combination  of  these, 
for  we  all  know  men  and  women  who  are  exceed- 
ingly busy  and  who  yet  throw  themselves  with 
marvellous  abandon  into  projects  entirely  outside 
their  own  personal  and  family  interests.  Recently 
a  company  of  eight  hundred  business  men  went 
out  in  one  city  giving  hours  to  a  piece  of  patriotic 
service.  It  appealed  to  them.  Church  work  does 
not  appeal  to  them;  that  is  a  large  part  of  the 
difficulty. 

But  in  the  case  of  the  eight  hundred  men  just 
mentioned  there  were  few  of  them  to  whom  their 
project  appealed  when  it  was  first  mentioned.  It 
won  them  only  when  they  were  fully  informed  on 
it.  They  were  enthusiastic  because  they  were  in- 
telligent. There  lies  one  suggestion  for  the 
church.  It  raises  the  question,  Do  our  laymen 
understand  fully  the  work  they  are  asked  to  do  1 

It  takes  a  completeness  of  information  seldom 
appreciated  to  carry  one  forward  in  tedious  work 
without  tangible  reward.  It  requires  that  kind  of 
information  which  reveals  all  the  meanings  and 
values  of  the  duty  and  task.  It  is  not  enough  to 
describe  the  ^'how;''  the  whole  judgment  must  be 
persuaded  with  an  adequate  WHY,  such  a  vision 
of  the  need  for  the  work,  of  its  meaning,  its  re- 
sults and  the  opportunity  it  offers  that  workers 
are  deeply  moved  and  constantly  sustained.  With 
all  our  teaching  of  method  we  must  not  forget 
motives;  they  must  be  developed  and  trained. 

A  sustaining  motive  will  be  based  upon  that 
225 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

which  makes  an  appeal  wide  enough  to  engage  our 
broadest  sympathies  and  ideals.  Normally, 
where  effort  is  required,  it  is  easier  to  reach  out 
and  forward  than  it  is  to  withdraw  or  go  back. 
The  remote  and  difficult  is  always  more  attractive 
than  the  near  and  easy.  The  large  project  calls 
for  large  endeavors.  Perhaps  that  suggests  one 
reason  for  failure ;  we  have  presented  the  projects 
in  which  we  would  have  men  engage  as  much 
smaller  than  they  really  are.  We  have  talked 
about  work  for  the  church  when  what  we  have 
meant  really  has  been  work  for  the  whole  world. 
We  have  seemed  to  call  folks  to  save  the  church 
when  what  we  wanted  them  to  do  was  to  make 
the  church  an  efficient  instrument  and  use  it  to 
save  the  world. 

LAUGE  PROGRAMS 

It  is  to  be  doubted  whether  large  men  can  ever 
be  enlisted  in  a  program  so  little  as  that  which 
centers  in  the  immediate  organization  and  satis- 
fies itself  there.  We  need  to  catch  Jesus'  vision 
of  the  whole  world  as  the  field ;  we  need  to  see  that 
all  Christian  work  is  part  of  the  program  of  mak- 
ing a  new  heaven  here.  Instead  of  asking  men  to 
serve  in  this  office  or  the  other,  what  would  be 
the  effect  if  we  called  them  to  take  part  in  Chris- 
tianizing this  world  of  ours  f  Such  a  call  would  be 
effective  only  in  the  degree  that  we  helped  them 
to  see  what  it  really  meant,  what  the  Christian 
program  is  for  the  world. 

Into  the  spirit  of  Wesley  we  must  come  and, 
realizing  that  for  every  Christian  leader  the  world 

226 


THE  SCHOOL  TRAINING  FOR  SERVICE 

is  his  parish,  call  all  men  about  us  to  have  a  part 
in  making  this  world-parish  the  very  kingdom  of 
God.  Then  it  will  be  no  longer  service  of  the 
church  to  which  they  are  invited;  it  will  be  the 
service  of  humanity  by  means  of  the  church  or  by 
any  other  means.  We  shall  make  divine  service 
mean  any  kind  of  work  anywhere  that  makes  life 
divine,  that  fulfils  the  divine  will  for  men,  that 
accomplishes  the  divine  purpose  of  a  divine  so- 
cial order. 

Our  programs  are  too  small  and  too  selfish.  We 
have  been  thinking  so  long  in  terms  of  the  means 
and  the  machinery  that  we  have  lost  sight  of  the 
splendid  ends.  Meanwhile  men  have  caught  some 
vision  of  those  ends,  they  have  had  quickened  in 
them  the  hope  of  a  redeemed  society;  then  when 
the  church  has  called  them  to  her  work  they  have 
answered.  We  cannot  come ;  we  have  larger  tasks 
in  trying  to  work  out  some  practical  good  in  so- 
ciety. 

We  shall  not  be  able  to  use  and  develop  the 
motive  that  enlists  and  sustains  unless  it  is  really 
our  own  motive.  We  cannot  win  the  modern  work- 
er if  we  are  simply  talking  about  world-wide  pro- 
grams while  we  have  in  mind  no  more  than  the 
perfecting  of  our  own  little  machines.  We  must, 
if  we  would  lead  others,  be  ourselves  led  wholly 
by  this  vision  of  the  work  of  the  church  as  but  a 
means  of  accomplishing  the  divine  purpose  for 
the  world.  We  accept  this  purpose  not  to  save 
the  church  by  aligning  it  with  current  thinking  on 
social  matters,  but  because  this  is  the  essential 
purpose  of  Christianity.    As  Jesus  said  He  came 

227 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODEEN  CHUECH 

to  save  the  world  so  He  called  all  His  followers 
to  carry  on  that  work. 

When  those  who  are  doing  divine  service  feel 
the  glow  and  catch  the  vision  that  comes  with  work 
so  splendidly  and  significant  they  will  see,  too,  the 
value  of  the  part  which  the  church  plays  in  that 
work.  The  larger  vision  will  rightly  evaluate 
the  dependent  means.  To  all  forms  of  necessary 
activity  in  the  church  they  will  contribute  with 
complete  intelligence. 

But  how  shall  we  train  men  to  accept  such  a 
thrilling  concept  of  religious  work?  First,  and 
most  important  of  all,  by  accepting  it  ourselves. 
We  can  persuade  others  only  when  we  are  so  per- 
suaded that  all  our  actions,  our  policies,  our  whole 
plan  of  work  is  dominated  by  that  ideal.  When 
we  organize  our  work,  using  the  church  as  a  means 
to  Christianize  the  whole  social  order,  we  set  be- 
fore young  and  old  the  most  effective  form  of 
teaching  imaginable.  The  boy  who  grows  up  in 
a  church  that  is  loyal  to  such  a  task  will  come 
naturally  to  think  habitually  of  life  in  like  terms. 
He  will  get  the  vision  from  what  he  sees  of  the 
regular  program  of  the  church.  That  is  the  fun- 
damental thing.  But  such  a  program  fully  ac- 
cepted will  determine  the  entire  curriculum  of 
study  and  will  direct  all  the  activities  of  the 
church.  So  that  all  the  time  the  unconscious 
teaching  by  the  very  life  of  the  church,  by  what 
it  does,  will  be  confirmed  and  illuminated  by  what 
is  taught  in  classes  and  what  is  done  in  every 
activity. 

We  will  have  laymen  working  in  all  forms  of  re- 
228 


THE  SCHOOL  TRAINING  FOR  SERVICE 

ligious  service  when  they  see  that  the  way  of  re- 
ligion is  the  one  way  in  which  the  appalling  prob- 
lems of  society  can  be  met,  it  is  the  one  way  in 
which  we  can  make  the  world  fit  for  our  children 
to  live  in,  it  is  the  one  way  in  which  the  Christian 
ideal  of  love  and  brotherhood  can  be  realized,  and 
a  man's  best  chance  to  bring  such  hopes  to  pass 
is  to  work  with  the  forces  that  make  for  righteous- 
ness, justice  and  holiness. 


229 


CHAPTER  XT 

A  FIELD  OF  WORK  FOR  THE  ADULT  CLASS 

Having  taken  the  position  that  there  is  a  place 
for  the  adult  in  the  educational  program  of  the 
church,  and  having  cleared  ourselves  from  the 
old  error  that  his,  or  her,  place  was  exactly  the 
same  as  the  place  of  the  child,  that  there  was 
nothing  for  the  adults  to  do  but  to  sit  in  classes, 
we  turn  to  ask,  what  are  the  enterprises  which  be- 
long most  naturally  to  the  educational  program 
for  adults  1  There  ought  to  be  no  difficulty  in  an- 
swering that;  they  are  those  in  which  the  adults 
learn  the  way  of  Christian  discipleship  by  doing 
the  things  that  the  first  disciples  did,  working  for 
other  disciples.  The  natural  educational  activi- 
ties for  adults  are  distinctly  missionary. 

But  the  immediate  assumption,  commonly,  is 
that  this  means  they  must  either  organize  classes 
on  Missions,  or,  if  the  work  is  really  to  be  prac- 
tical, they  must  go  out  in  the  streets  and  highways 
after  the  outsiders,  the  indiiferent,  wandering 
crowd.  While  this  task  is  attractive,  highly  im- 
portant, and  likely  to  become  the  special  duty  of 
some  who  have  peculiar  fitness  for  it,  there  is 
another  and  more  important  task  closer  at  home, 
one  which  will  need  more  workers,  one  which  is 
much  simpler  and  will  yield  much  larger  and  richer 

230 


FIELD  OF  WOEK  FOE  THE  ADULT  CLASS 

results.  It  is  that  of  discovering  means  of  win- 
ning, training  and  holding  those  who  are  already 
very  near  to  the  churches,  already  in  some  ways 
related  to  its  life.  It  includes  strengthening,  for 
the  program  of  the  divine  society,  the  agencies 
which  cooperate  with  and  further  the  work  of  the 
church.  It  is  a  program,  in  part  of  conservation. 
It  may  well  begin  with  the  home  and  family. 

At  present  the  church  school  is  reaching  only 
a  minor  proportion  of  the  whole  number  of  boys 
and  girls.  Out  of  the  total  population  of  school 
age  in  the  United  States  the  Christian  church 
schools  reach  less  than  one-third.  In  fact,  their 
total  enrollment  is  about  one-third  of  that  of  the 
public  schools,  while  the  former  includes  a  very 
large  number  of  adults  not  included  in  the  latter. 
The  startling  fact  is  that  not  more  than  one  child 
in  every  three  in  the  United  States  receives  any 
formal  religious  instruction.  That  fact  is  a  chal- 
lenge to  every  adult  Christian. 

Here  is  a  situation  that  ought  to  interest  the 
members  of  adult  departments.  Adult  Christians 
ought  to  be  concerned  with  the  great  problem  cre- 
ated by  the  fact  that  two  out  of  every  three  per- 
sons know  practically  nothing  about  the  Christian 
social  ideals.  The  fundamental  problem  in  work- 
ing out  Christian  ideals  in  society  is  that  we  are 
dealing  with  people  who  have  never  learned  these 
ideals.  At  best  they  have  vague  notions  about 
them. 

If  we  demand  that  every  incoming  citizen  shall 
know  what  our  country  means  and  what  it  stands 
for,  ought  we  not  to  hold  it  as  the  right  of  every 

231 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHTJECH 

child  coming  into  the  world  that  he  shall  know 
what  the  Kingdom  of  God  means  and  how  it  is 
to  be  realized?  We  can  never  have  a  Christian 
social  order  otherwise,  and  one  wonders  how  long 
we  can  have  a  Christian  church  when  so  few  know 
what  its  life  really  means.  God's  will  in  society 
will  come  only  as  men  learn  to  will  it ;  it  will  not 
come  by  compulsion.  It  will  come  when  both  of 
two  things  are  secured,  that  all  know  His  will  and 
all  will  to  do  it,  and  the  first  is  essential  to  the 
last.  We  dare  not  lose  sight  of  the  two  out  of 
every  three  who  have  practically  no  opportunity 
to  know  that  will. 

If  the  adults  in  the  school  wish  to  do  the  largest 
possible  service  for  the  world  the  best  place  to  be- 
gin is  with  the  children.  We  think  of  the  task  of 
changing  the  minds  of  men,  but  how  much  bet- 
ter to  train  the  minds  of  children ! 

What  can  the  adult  department  do  for  the  un- 
schooled two-thirds?  First,  find  out  who  they 
are  and  how  many  there  are  of  them.  There  is 
a  practical  job,  to  make  a  complete  census  of  all 
children  not  attending  some  kind  of  a  church 
school  for  religious  instruction.  Know  your  facts 
first.  Know  not  only  the  total  numbers,  but  also 
the  geographical  distribution,  the  prevailing  so- 
cial conditions,  the  general  causes,  and,  most  par- 
ticularly, the  names  of  all  cases.  Put  the  facts  in 
graphic  form.  Make  a  color  map  of  your  district 
or  parish,  showing  by  different  colors  the  propor- 
tions of  non-attendents.  Can  you  show  whether 
the  condition  is  getting  worse  or  better? 

To  a  certain  extent,  however,  the  gathering  of 
232 


FIELD  OE  .WORK  FOR  THE  ADULT  CLASS 

facts  has  been  done  in  commnnities  before;  but 
the  work  has  stopped  there.  The  facts  have  been 
fruitless.  What  shall  be  done  with  the  facts? 
Change  them.  Make  them  different.  Call  all 
your  adults  together  and  show  them  the  big  job. 
Take  such  an  aim  as  *' Change  the  two-thirds  out 
to  a  two-thirds  in.''  If  you  can  do  that  the  first 
year,  you  will  be  ready  to  try  for  a  three-thirds 
in  the  year  following. 

A  good  many  experiences  lead  one  to  doubt 
whether  the  spectacular,  hurrah  campaigns  ever 
accomplish  much;  frequently  they  only  shift  en- 
rollments from  one  school  to  another,  sometimes 
they  cultivate  habits  of  joining  and  unjoining  one- 
self from  schools.  Better  the  sort  of  work  that 
adult  departments  can  take  up  seriously  and 
quietly.  Assign  the  families  to  members.  Have 
weekly  meetings  of  the  department,  on  some  week 
night,  and  get  reports  from  each  member  as  to  his 
work  and  success.  Personally  call  on  families 
just  as  you  would  call  to  sell  life  insurance  or  a 
washing  machine.  The  direct  contact  with  the 
family  counts.  It  will  often  win  all  instead  of  the 
children  alone.  Printed  invitations  and  cor- 
respondence schemes  will  not  succeed  here ;  shoe- 
leather  will  count  rather  than  letters. 

This  kind  of  work  will  call  for  patience,  faith 
and  endurance.  There  will  be  no  high  tide  of 
enthusiasm  to  carry  the  regiment  over  the 
trenches.  You  will  have  to  go  alone  and  again  and 
again.  Those  who  carry  the  work  on  will  find  it 
more  complex  than  at  first  appears.  Parents  will 
show  you  special  situations  that  seem  to  forbid 

233 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODEEN  CHUECH 

sending  children  to  school.  They  will  reveal  deep- 
seated  prejudices  toward  the  churches.  Alto- 
gether it  will  be  a  real  man's  job. 

But  could  any  adult  department  set  before  it- 
self a  finer  piece  of  service  than  this  or  one  more 
far-reaching,  to  see  that  every  child  in  all  the  com- 
munity shall  have  his  entire  religious  rights? 
What  greater  social  ministry  could  there  be  than 
to  guard  the  rights  of  the  child  to  religious  train- 
ing and  to  prepare  for  the  welfare  of  the  future 
by  making  sure  of  the  right  instruction  of  those 
who  will  be  its  citizens  1 

In  addition  to  the  sustained  enlistment  cam- 
paign the  adult  department  may  undertake,  as  part 
of  this  work,  one  special  enterprise.  Those  who 
visit  the  homes  will  soon  find  that  there  are  large 
numbers  of  children  who  are  spiritually  orphans ; 
they  have  physiological  parents  but  are  without 
spiritual  parents.  The  fathers  and  mothers  seem 
to  be  devoid  of  religious  responsibility  for  their 
children.  Here  is  where  wise  men  and  women 
must  serve,  by  taking  these  spiritual  orphans  and 
furnishing  them  the  religious  guidance  they  need. 
We  have  had  a  ^'Big  Brother"  plan  and  a  ^^Big 
Sister"  plan;  now  we  need  a  plan  of  spiritual 
parenthood.  Wliat  a  chance,  especially  for  those 
who,  hungry  for  children  and  having  none  of  their 
own,  by  this  means  can  have  their  own  children  in 
the  highest  sense,  and  what  a  chance  for  us  all ! 

What  right  have  we  to  be  adults  if  we  do  not 
play  the  man's  part  in  the  world,  especially  in  the 
religious  world,  if  seeing  these  many  outside, 
fatherless  in  soul  and  perishing  for  eternal  bread, 

234 


FIELD  OF  WOEK  FOR  THE  ADULT  CLASS 

dying  at  the  top  of  life,  we  reach  not  out  to  them 
hearts  of  love  and  hands  of  guidance  ? 


THE  ADULT  DEPARTMENT  AND  THE  HOME  DEPARTMENT 

The  Home  Department  is  the  orphan  in  the 
church  school;  no  one  seems  to  care  to  claim  it, 
so  it  is,  with  rare  exceptions,  stunted  in  growth, 
neglected  and  impoverished.  It  is  hardly  ever  al- 
luded to  in  polite  church-school  society.  All  this 
is  due  to  two  causes :  First,  we  have  not  thought 
out  an  exact  place,  or  function,  for  the  depart- 
ment; and,  second,  we  have  no  special  group  re- 
sponsible for  it. 

If  we  were  to  call  this  neglected  child  * '  The  Ex- 
tension Department  of  the  Church  school,''  we 
would  at  least  give  it  a  respectable  and  meaning- 
ful name,  a  name  that  would  show  where  it  be- 
longed and  what  it  was  supposed  to  do.  It  is  sim- 
ply the  school  extending  itself  into  every  place 
where  a  student  may  be  found,  the  school  teaching 
by  correspondence  studj^  Here  is  a  mother  who 
cannot  leave  the  tiny  baby  to  go  to  school  and  so 
we  arrange  that  she  shall  study  at  home ;  here  is 
an  invalid  for  whom  a  like  provision  is  made,  and 
here  are  men  employed  in  factories,  mills  and 
trains  who  want  to  belong  to  the  school  and  to  do 
its  work  though  they  may  be  many  miles  away 
from  it  at  the  time  of  the  sessions.  The  Home  De- 
partment, or  why  not  call  it  what  it  really  is,  the 
Extension  Department,  extends  the  school  to  them. 

But  extension  must  be  a  real  thing ;  it  demands 
the  provision  of  means  of  contact.     Something 

235 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

must  be  extended.  Many  of  tlie  departments  have 
been  more  active  in  good  intentions  than  in  effec- 
tive extensions;  they  have  wished  the  members 
well  and,  very  soon,  the  members  have  wished 
them  *^Good-by.''  Unless  the  members  of  the  de- 
partment know  that  the  school  is  being  extended  to 
them  so  that  it  reaches  them  effectively,  helpfully 
and  therefore  personally,  they  will  soon  lose  any 
sense  of  belonging. 

If  the  Home  Department  consists  so  largely  of 
adults  separated  from  the  school  they  should 
naturally  be  in  nearest  relations  to  the  adults  now 
in  the  school;  the  home  department  consists  of 
the  adults  outside ;  the  Adult  department  of  those 
inside.  The  two  ought  never  to  be  separated  in 
our  thought,  and  they  ought  never  to  be  separated 
in  our  plans  for  action.  The  group  immediately 
responsible  for  the  shut-ins  is  the  adult  depart- 
ment. 

This  relationship  is  not  one  of  responsibility 
alone;  it  is  one  of  opportunity.  Here  is  one  of 
the  best  service  opportunities  for  adults,  best  be- 
cause it  is  simple,  it  is  practical,  it  is  evidently  a 
part  of  the  work  of  the  school  and  it  can  be  car- 
ried forward  all  the  year.  "Whoever  else  may  have 
a  share  in  the  work  the  men  and  women  in  the 
adult  department  are  the  ones  who  must  see  that 
the  involuntary  outsiders  feel  that  in  all  the  es- 
sential relationships  they  are  inside.  There  are 
a  number  of  practical  ways  in  which  this  feeling 
can  be  created  and  under  which  the  members  of 
the  adult  department  will  find  real  exercise  in  do- 
ing religious  work. 

236 


FIELD  OF  WOEK  FOR  THE  ADULT  CLASS 

Suppose  we  take  all  the  outsiders,  the  Exten- 
sion Department  members,  and  divide  them  up 
into  as  many  groups  as  there  are  persons  in  the 
adult  department  willing  to  work  in  this  field. 
When  the  number  is  determined  then  classify  the 
groups  according  to  their  localities,  assigning  each 
local  group  to  some  individual  who  can  readily 
call  on  them.  This  is  the  provision  for  the  first 
form  of  extension,  through  visitation. 

Let  no  one  shrink  from  visiting,  as  though  you 
were  about  to  make  a  ^ '  pastoral  call.  ^ '  What  these 
people  want,  after  all,  is  just  a  plain  visit,  not  an 
official  interview.  They  want  to  see  your  face  and 
to  talk  things  over  with  you.  It  may  be  they  will 
talk  about  the  lesson,  but  not  with  the  idea  that 
you  are  to  teach  it  to  them.  You  are  there  sim- 
ply to  carry  the  school,  as  a  society,  personally  to 
them. 

In  these  days  of  improved  means  of  transpor- 
tation it  will  often  happen  that  the  visitor  can 
do  more  than  represent  the  school,  he  can  take  the 
''shut-in'^  to  the  school.  There  are  often  enough 
automobiles  in  an  adult  department  to  gather  up 
half  the  outsiders  and  bring  them  inside  the  school 
session.  If  a  gallon  of  gasoline  will  make  some- 
one happy,  or  bring  them  to  the  means  of  grace, 
it  would  seem  to  be  a  good  investment. 

Every  Sunday  each  member  of  the  adult  depart- 
ment should  turn  in  a  report  as  to  the  times  he 
has  seen  the  members  of  his  group  at  their  homes. 
If  he  is  a  human  Christian,  a  creature  who  likes 
folks  just  as  the  Master  liked  them,  he  wiU  soon 
count  the  chance  to  visit  others  one  of  his  great- 

237 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

est  joys.  If  he  doesn't  like  to  go  to  see  them  you 
can  be  sure  they  do  not  care  to  have  him.  A  duty 
face  is  never  welcome. 

Can  the  adult  department  help  in  the  matter  of 
lesson  study  for  the  shut-ins?  The  members  can 
check  up  in  each  case  to  see  that  the  necessary 
helps  for  study  are  provided.  They  will,  as  occa- 
sion offers,  be  able  to  tell  from  their  own  class 
experience  that  which  will  help  the  home  students. 
If  the  plan  provided  that  all  home  students  should 
be  studying  their  lessons  a  week  later  than  those 
in  the  school  the  visitors  would  at  least  have  some 
helpful  familiarity  with  the  lesson  which,  while 
it  would  not  mean  teaching  it  in  any  formal  sense, 
might  be  highly  valuable.  "With  the  background 
of  the  preceding  Sunday's  work  the  lesson  could 
be  talked  over  in  a  way  that  might  be  more  ef- 
fective than  much  formal  class  work. 

Two  other  suggestions  of  relationships  practi- 
cal aud  helpful  between  the  adult  department  and 
the  home  department :  The  visitor  will  often  find 
it  possible  to  have  his  little  group — it  will  sel- 
dom be  more  than  three  or  four — meet  at  some 
convenient  place  during  the  week.  Supposing  one 
is  a  shut-in,  it  will  often  happen  that  others  can 
find  a  free  hour  on  some  afternoon  and  can  meet  at 
the  home  of  the  shut-in.  If  possible  a  teacher 
should  be  provided;  but  wdth  or  without  teacher 
three  or  four  will  certainly  do  better  than  one 
alone. 

In  many  places,  especially  in  rural  communities, 
the  telephone  can  be  called  in  as  one  of  the  con- 
necting fibres  of  the  extension  plan.    Each  mem- 

238 


FIELD  OF  WOEK  FOE  THE  ADULT  CLASS 

ber  may  be  reached  by  a  telephone  call;  he  will 
want  to  know  the  news  of  the  school  session,  who 
was  there  and  what  they  did,  then  he  will  want 
to  know  about  the  plans  for  his  week's  work  as  a 
member  of  the  school ;  it  is  a  good  time  to  remind 
him  of  his  lesson.  It  will  be  possible,  also,  to 
arrange  that  all  the  members  of  the  group  can 
call  on  some  certain  person  on  the  circuit  for  help 
in  the  study  of  the  lesson,  a  provision  for  a  type 
of  correspondence  study  by  telephone. 

Let  the  whole  adult  department  get  together 
to  take  over  its  orphan  brother,  the  home  depart- 
ment, and  bring  him  really  into  the  family  by 
devising  every  means  possible  to  render  the  ser- 
vice that  shall  make  the  school  effectively  Ms 
school. 


FAMILY 

The  motto  of  an  adult  department  might  be 
stated  as  ^ '  Study  and  Service. ' '  Without  further 
inquiry  as  to  the  careful  study  of  the  religious  life 
and  welfare  of  the  family  which  every  adult  ought 
to  take,^  the  question  arises,  what  direct  service 
can  the  members  of  this  department  render  in  the 
same  field? 

Christian  men  and  women  are  concerned  in 
every  aspect  of  human  affairs  as  they  affect  the 
making  of  men  and  women;  the  social  service  of 
the  church  has  this  single  aim,  to  bring  about  con- 

*See  the  author's  text-hook  on  this  subject:     "Eeligious  Edu- 
cation in  the  Pamily.'^ 

239 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHUECH 

ditions  in  wliicli  men  may  grow  iowsLvd  God,  in 
which  His  will  may  be  done.  Nowhere  are  the 
conditions  of  life  more  potent  in  regard  to  re- 
ligious character  than  in  the  family.  No  other 
environment  has  as  much  to  do  with  determining 
our  ideals  and  habits,  with  moulding  us  into  the 
kind  of  people  we  are  to  be.  Whenever  we  look 
out  on  a  community  and  think  of  its  social  ills 
and  needs,  all  our  problems  go  back  to  families, 
to  home  living. 

If  the  adult  department  would  attack  the  vital 
points  in  preparing  for  the  divine  program  on 
earth  it  must  begin  with  the  home.  Here  lies  the 
root  problem  of  American  life.  Here  is  the 
earliest,  most  potent  educational  agency;  here  the 
school  of  life,  the  culture  beds  of  the  spirit  are 
here.  How  little  can  church  and  school  do  if  the 
family  life  does  not  count  for  righteousness? 

The  greatest  service  that  can  be  rendered  for 
any  family  is  to  bring  parents  to  God.  There  can 
be  no  religious  product  where  there  is  no  personal 
religious  leadership  in  the  home,  where  the  nur- 
ture and  atmosphere  of  religion  is  lacking.  Noth- 
ing can  approach  in  importance  the  program  of 
saving  the  home  by  insuring  that  it  have  Christian 
parents.  This  work,  of  course,  the  adult  depart- 
ment undertakes  as  it  seeks  to  bring  all  adults 
under  the  leadership  of  Jesus.  But  there  are  some 
other  things  that  wonderfully  help  which  ought 
not  to  be  forgotten. 

Have  you  ever  thought  how  greatly  the  effec- 
tiveness of  the  family  in  growing  religious  per- 
sons may  be  hindered  by  circumstances  over  which 

240 


FIELD  OF  WOEK  FOR  THE  ADULT  CLASS 

it  has  little  control!  Where  labor  takes  the  toll 
of  all  the  father's  hours,  from  early  mom  till  late 
at  night,  where  the  mother  must  go  out  to  earn 
bread,  what  chance  have  the  children  for  religious 
training?  It  is  not  only  a  matter  of  time  but  of 
strength,  of  energy  and  spirit.  Every  parent  has 
a  simple  human  right  to  enough  freedom  from 
labor  to  know  his  children  and  to  train  them.  In- 
deed it  is  more  than  the  right  of  the  parents ;  so- 
ciety, as  a  whole,  has  a  fundamental  right  to  de- 
mand that  no  child  shall  grow  up  deprived  of  the 
personal  culture  of  parents.  For  the  sake  of  the 
coming  world  every  child  must  have  full  parent- 
hood, the  mothering  and  the  fathering  of  the  spirit 
in  the  home. 

SOCIAL.  STUDIES 

Surely  the  duty  of  the  adult  department  is  very 
plain  here ;  its  members  should  thoroughly  under- 
stand the  social  and  economic  factors  that  de- 
termine the  life  of  families;  its  members  should 
endeavor  to  create  a  sound  and  insistent  public 
opinion  that  will  not  permit  conditions  to  exist 
which  rob  parents  of  the  possibilities  of  full  men- 
tal and  spiritual  parenthood  and  children  of  free 
opportunity  and  stimulus  to  full  development.  An 
adult  department  ought  to  be  an  active  agency  in- 
sisting on  social  justice  in  order  to  save  our  home 
life. 

Here  at  this  vital  point  of  interest  there  will 
arise  those  studies  of  our  everyday  life  upon  which 
any  intelligent  program  for  work  for  the  salva- 
tion of  the  world  must  be  based.    The  courses  of 

241 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

study  in  this  field  are  already  numerous  and  many 
of  them  are  of  first-rate  value  both  as  to  their  so- 
cial soundness  and  their  religious  significance. 
Some  are  issued  by  the  denominational  houses  and 
some  by  the  presses  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  and  the 
Y.  W.  C.  A.  They  are  not  only  highly  interesting ; 
they  are  essential  to  the  religious  education  of 
every  Christian  man  and  woman.  But  the  point 
particularly  urged  here  is  that  the  social  studies 
in  adult  classes  should  give  larger  emphasis  to  the 
life  of  the  family  and  to  social  and  economic  con- 
ditions affecting  the  family.  No  field  of  study 
could  come  closer  to  our  nearest  interests  and 
none  is  of  greater  importance. 

As  a  program  of  study  and  service  for  the  adult 
department  begin  with  the  home  and  family.  It 
is  the  logical  place  to  begin.  Such  study  will  not 
end  there ;  it  will  lead  out  to  all  those  conditions 
that  make  up  our  social  life;  it  will  lead  to  a 
realization  of  the  still  often  overlooked  fact,  that 
if  the  kingdom  of  God  is  ever  to  be  realized  here 
it  will  mean  religious  ideals  so  applied  to  the 
everyday,  practical  affairs  of  men  as  to  make  con- 
ditions of  living  in  which  it  is  possible  for  the  will 
of  God  to  be  done.  Social  studies  in  the  adult 
department  of  the  school  simply  mean  the  study 
of  the  conditions  under  which  men  may  live  as 
members  of  the  one,  common  divine  family.  If 
any  one  suspects  such  studies  of  being  *' merely 
secular''  he  would  do  well  to  consider  the  teach- 
ings of  Jesus  and  of  the  New  Testament  writers, 
and  of  the  prophets,  too,  on  social  justice,  on 
righteousness  at  work  in  everyday  affairs.    One 

242 


FIELD  OF  WOEK  FOE  THE  ADULT  CLASS 

furtlier  advantage  of  such  studies :  tliey  render  it 
impossible  for  a  genuine  student  to  remain  only 
a  student ;  they  compel  action ;  they  stimulate  pity, 
indignation,  hatred  and  passion  for  a  better  world 
that  will  force  every  honest  lover  of  his  fellow  men 
to  attempt  something  to  end  the  day  of  social  or- 
ganization on  the  bases  of  greed  and  competition 
and  to  bring  about  the  day  of  true  fellowship  and 
good  will. 


243 


CHAPTER  XYI 
CRISES  IN  SCHOOL  MANAGEMENT 

I.    GETTING  KID  OF  A  SUPERINTENDENT 

It  may  often  be  just  as  important  for  the  health 
of  a  Sunday  school  to  get  rid  of  a  bad  superin- 
tendent as  it  is  to  secure  a  good  one ;  but  there  can 
be  no  question  but  it  is  a  good  deal  more  difficult. 

Many  a  school  is  dying  for  lack  of  courage  to 
face  this  situation.  We  all  know  schools  which 
have  been  putting  off  the  dread  event  for  years. 
It  is  feared  more  than  a  surgical  operation  be- 
cause it  will  give  pain  to  more  than  one  person; 
in  fact,  many  firmly  believe  that  even  though  the 
operation  should  be  successful  the  patient — in  this 
case  perhaps  both  church  and  school — ^would  die. 
The  irritating  question  in  such  a  church  is,  ^  ^  Is  it 
better  to  get  along  with  a  superintendent  who  kills 
the  school  or  to  risk  the  very  life  of  the  whole 
church  in  order  to  get  a  new  one?''  Usually  the 
question  is  decided  in  favor  of  the  first  alterna- 
tive. Is  this  the  right  decision?  If  not,  how  may 
the  church  and  school  face  their  duty  and  rightly 
perform  it? 

There  are  two  outstanding  reasons  for  dis- 
missing a  superintendent :  Immorality  and  Incom- 
petency.   There  may  be  many  other  reasons  for 

244 


CRISES  IN  SCHOOL  MANAGEMENT 

changing  superintendents,  such  as  the  wisdom  of 
rotating  officers ;  but  just  now  we  are  discussing 
dismissing  an  officer  or  securing  a  change  on  ac- 
count of  quahties  inherent  in  the  present  incum-* 
bent. 

The  indictment  of  immorality  includes  the  other. 
If  a  superintendent  is  not  a  man  of  Christian  char- 
acter he  cannot  be  competent  to  lead  a  religious 
institution  and  he  must  be  indifferent  to  its  true 
and  ultimate  aims.  If  a  man  is  admittedly  of  im- 
moral character  what  room  is  there  for  discus- 
sion as  to  whether  it  be  right  to  permit  him  to 
lead  a  religious  enterprise?  The  superintendent 
is  a  leader ;  if  he  lives  wrong  he  must  lead  wrong. 
He  is  the  leader  of  an  institution  guiding  lives 
into  Christian  character ;  the  greater  his  powers  of 
leadership  the  more  dangerous  he  is,  the  more 
likely  to  lead  in  the  wrong  way.  He  is  a  leader  in 
an  institution  of  leadership  for  youth,  people  who 
cannot  separate  the  lesson  from  the  teacher,  the 
personal  from  the  philosophical,  who  feel  and  fol- 
low the  leadership  of  personality  more  than  any- 
thing else.  An  immoral  man  may  sometimes  be 
highly  successful  on  the  mechanical  side  of  Sun- 
day-school management,  just  as  he  would  be  suc- 
cessful in  managing  a  business  enterprise;  but, 
remember,  the  stronger  he  is  as  a  man  the  stronger 
he  is  as  a  bad  man,  a  force  to  mislead  youth.  He 
may  delight  the  church  by  gathering  large  num- 
bers into  the  school,  but  the  more  he  gathers  the 
more  he  influences  for  evil. 

When  the  people  of  the  church  or  of  the  school, 
in  plain  view  of  the  immorality  of  a  superin- 

245 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

tendent's  character,  nevertheless  endorse  his  con- 
tinuance in  office  it  is  evident  that  that  chnrch  it- 
self is  an  innnoral  institution ;  it  professes  to  stand 
for  righteousness,  for  religion  and  character;,  but 
it  actually  stands  for  success  at  any  price,  even 
superficial  success  at  the  cost  of  the  lives  of 
youth.  "When  a  church  would  rather  endorse  the 
personal,  potent  example  of  immorality  and  stamp 
it  with  the  name  of  religion  it  does  not  need  to 
face  the  question  of  whether  a  split  oyer  the  su- 
perintendency  would  kill  it,  for  it  is  dead  al- 
ready. 

Now  a  word  of  caution  is  needed  just  about  here : 
let  everyone  beware  of  insisting  on  his  own  habits, 
tastes  and  inclinations  as  a  standard  of  Christian 
morality.  The  fact  that  Mr.  B —  does  some  things 
which  you  have  neither  taste  nor  desire  to  do, 
perhaps  even  some  things  which  are  quite  dis- 
tasteful to  you,  may  by  no  means  prove  that  he 
is  an  immoral  person.  There  are  even  some  who 
insist  that  wearing  a  necktie  is  a  sign  of  irreligion. 
There  is  no  safe  standard  other  than  the  Master's 
standard,  applied  in  the  Master's  spirit.  Does 
this  man's  conduct  cause  **one  of  these  little  ones 
to  stumble?"  It  is  not  a  question  of  v^hether  he 
eats  peas  with  his  knife  or  smashes  the  precise 
fences  of  syntax  when  he  speaks.  Piety  is  not  a 
matter  of  prunes  and  prisms.  To  the  last  de- 
tail all  good  manners  have  importance;  but  they 
must  not  be  mistaken  for  morals.  "We  must  not 
let  the  mote  get  in  our  eyes. 

The  officer  who  most  of  all  injures  a  school,  un- 
does its  work  and  turns  its  powers  into  evil,  is  he 

246 


CRISES  IN  SCHOOL  MANAGEMENT 

whose  conduct  makes  religion  mean  pretense,  sel- 
fishness, injustice  and  uncleanness.  His  life  speaks 
so  loud  to  youth  they  never  hear  what  he  says; 
they  feel  what  he  is.  The  dishonest,  avaricious 
and  unclean  we  dare  not  make  the  teachers  of  the 
young. 

But,  how  get  rid  of  them?  They  are  intrenched 
in  social  prestige,  friendships,  the  power  of 
money  and,  most  of  all,  the  dread  of  a  fuss.  First, 
we  have  to  remember  that  the  school  itself  is  not 
a  body  for  the  trial  and  discipline  of  church  mem- 
bers. It  is  not  the  business  of  the  school  to  pre- 
fer or  to  prove  charges  of  immorality.  But  it  is 
the  business  of  that  school  to  concentrate  all  its 
powers  on  developing  Christian  character  and  to 
rid  itself  of  all  that  hinders  this  purpose.  The 
first  step  in  the  process  of  purification  is  a  clear, 
compelling  conviction  of  this  dominant  purpose  in 
the  school.  Schools  tolerate  bad  men  because  they 
think  the  institution  exists  for  other  and  lesser 
ends.  They  usually  test  leaders  by  the  wrong  re- 
sults, by  their  power  to  get  numbers  instead  of 
their  power  to  make  religious  lives.  The  first 
step  in  the  process  must  be  a  clarification  of  our 
judgments  and  a  deepening  of  our  convictions  un- 
til we  put  the  welfare  of  the  child  and  the  purpose 
of  Christian  character  ahead  of  everything,  in- 
cluding the  very  institution  itself.  It  were  better 
to  smash  a  school  and  have  to  begin  all  over  again 
than  to  perpetuate  it  as  a  power  to  advertise  and 
endorse  and  lead  in  evil  living. 

Second,  the  school  will  have  to  look  to  the  lead- 
ership of  the  leader  of  all  the  church,  the  pastor, 

247 


THE  SCHOOL  IX  THE  MODEEX  CHURCH 

to  cultivate  a  cliurch  opinion  that  will  stand  solid- 
ly back  of  a  program  for  removing  the  stumbling 
block  from  the  way  of  youth  and,  also,  to  take  the 
necessary  initial  personal  step  to  remove  the  dan- 
gerous obstacle.  This  is  not  a  case  of  ''making 
a  goat"  of  the  pastor.  He  is  the  one  man  who 
ought  to  speak  free  from  all  partisan,  personal 
feeling.  If  he  is  truly  a  prophet  of  God  he  must 
leave  fear  behind  nor  take  counsel  of  policy  when 
he  would  remove  this  kind  of  an  obstacle.  As 
spoke  prophets  of  old  so  must  he  go  quietly,  pri- 
vately to  the  offender  and  say,  ^'It  is  not  fitting 
that  you  should  mislead  our  youth.  It  is  your 
duty  to  resign  immediately.'^  You  would  hardly 
characterize  that  as  a  pleasant  job.  Yet,  if  ever 
it  has  been  yours,  you  have  felt  its  discipline  and 
its  moral  bracing. 

But,  suppose  the  obstacle  refuses  to  leave  the 
path?  Then  again  the  pastor  must  take  the  steps 
required  by  his  church  method  of  procedure,  or- 
dinarily leading  to  a  similar  request  or  order  com- 
ing from  an  official  board  of  the  church. 

Third,  upon  the  church  there  must  be  laid  the 
responsibility  of  securing  the  right  leaders  for  its 
school.  Xo  school  c-an  aff'ord,  if  it  is  a  church 
school,  to  be  independent  of  its  church.  It  not  only 
needs  the  personal  and  financial  support  of  the 
church  but,  what  is  of  at  least  equal  importance, 
the  church  needs  the  responsibility  for  the  school. 
This  dreaded  struggle  over  an  officer  is  not  the 
bitterness  of  the  school;  it  is  the  business  of  the 
church. 

But  supposing  the  church  is  indifferent,  or  that 
248 


CEISES  IX  SCHOOL  MAXAGE^^EXT 

the  pastor  is  cowardly  or  unwiUing  to  take  the 
right  steps  ?  It  is  evident  that  the  process  of  edu- 
cating that  kind  of  a  church  into  moral  conviction 
and  a  sense  of  responsibility  for  the  school  will 
be  a  long  one.  It  will  be  a  necessary  one ;  bnt  it 
will  be  too  long  to  allow  the  evil  man  to  continue 
as  leader  of  youth  during  its  process,  too  much 
damage  would  be  wrought  while  the  church  was 
being  educated.  Two  processes  must  be  under 
way  within  the  school  itseK;  first,  counter-action 
of  the  evil  influence  behind  the  superintendent's 
desk  by  the  means  of  the  teacher's  power,  and 
second,  substitution  of  a  man  for  good  instead  of 
the  man  of  evil. 

Fourth,  the  school  must  not  only  covet  a  good 
leader;  it  must  become  in  itself  a  leading  force  for 
good.  Xo  matter  how  zealously  we  may  long  to 
pitch-fork  the  unfit  man  from  his  position  we  must 
remember  that  success  in  landing  him  where  he 
belongs  would  be  valueless  unless  we,  the  teach- 
ers and  officers,  are  actually  counting  just  as  posi- 
tively for  good  as  such  an  action  would  count 
negatively.  If  you  fling  out  the  evil  you  must  fur- 
nish the  good.  Are  we  as  anxious  to  fortify  our 
students  with  good  as  we  are  to  fight  evil  people? 
After  all,  the  teacher's  lesson  and  life  is  mightier. 
than  the  superintendent's.  In  getting  rid  of  the 
unworthy  do  not  lose  sight  of  the  need  of  strength- 
ening the  greater  worth  in  your  teaching. 

Fifth,  the  program  for  person<il  suhsfifutlon 
means  finding  a  good  man  in  place  of  a  bad  one. 
Let  the  teachers  and  other  officers  simply  band 
together  to  select  exactlv  the  right  person  for 

249 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHUECH 

superintendent  and  to  insist  that  lie  shall  serve  in 
the  office.  Have  your  man  ready;  agree  on  him 
and  then  demand  of  the  church  that  he  be  chosen. 
Insist  on  him  because  he  is  the  best,  fittest  man. 
By  all  means  avoid  the  evil  effects  of  a  school 
campaign  on  his  election.  The  school  should  not 
elect  its  officers  any  more  than  the  children  in  the 
public  school  elect  the  principal  and  superin- 
tendent of  education.  The  desired  change  should 
come  about  either  through  the  church  official 
board  or  through  the  act  of  the  church  congrega- 
tion, the  method  depending  on  the  type  of  church 
organization.  Let  the  church  take  its  proper  re- 
sponsibility here.  Just  in  this  last  suggestion  is 
the  very  heart  of  the  solution  of  the  problem  of 
getting  rid  of  the  bad  man  in  the  superintendent's 
office ;  do  it,  not  through  the  school,  but  through  a 
church  properly  educated  to  see  the  importance 
of  a  fit  man  for  the  position  and  through  officers 
made  wisely  alive  to  the  need. 

II.     LOSING  THE   IN"C0MPETEN-T  SUPERINTENDENT 

The  best  way  to  get  rid  of  an  incompetent  su- 
perintendent is  to  either  leave  him  behind  or  to 
lose  him.  But  neither  process  is  as  easy  to  exe- 
cute as  it  is  to  write  the  prescription. 

An  incompetent  officer — and,  by  the  way,  this 
discussion  applies  with  but  few  changes  to  a  sec- 
retary or  any  other  officer  as  well  as  to  a  super- 
intendent— an  incompetent  officer  is  one  who  is 
either  destitute  of  ability  to  learn  how  to  manage 
a  school  efficiently  or  who  is  too  indolent  to  ex- 

250 


CEISES  IN  SCHOOL  MANAGEMENT 

ercise  his  mind  and  his  muscles  at  the  desk. 
Ought  he  to  go !  Should  be  go  under  persuasion, 
inspiration,  propulsion  or  substitution?  By  all 
these  means  if  necessary  but  by  no  more  than 
needful.  If  he  stands  in  the  way  of  a  school 
achieving  its  purpose,  if  he  is  a  drag  on  its  wheels 
and  even,  by  his  negative  qualities,  defeats  its 
plans  and  purposes,  can  there  be  any  doubt  as 
to  the  duty  of  the  school!  Yet  there  is  no  error 
more  common  than  the  one  that  creeps  in  just 
here,  that  of  regarding  the  feelings  of  the  officer 
as  of  greater  importance  than  the  effectiveness 
of  the  office. 

One  would  think  that  some  schools  exist  to 
amuse  and  console  childish  minds  with  harmless 
jobs.  "When  everybody  knows  that  Spoofkins  is 
making  a  miserable  failure  of  his  work,  there  are 
still  many  w^ho  say,  ^'He'd  just  break  his  heart 
if  he  lost  his  position  as  superintendent."  Usually 
the  fact  is  that  it  would  only  crack  his  vanity.  And 
so  we  allow  a  school  to  go  to  pieces  rather  than 
that  one  man's  self-complacency  should  be 
broken. 

We  all  know  officers  whose  proudest  boast  is 
that  they  have  held  office  ten,  twenty,  forty  years ! 
Not  that  they  have  put  in  so  many  years  of  work; 
that  would  advertise  itself ;  but  that  they  have  been 
on  the  high  seat  these  years.  There  is  much  dif- 
ference between  office  fillers  and  office  farces. 
They  fight  for  office,  not  for  service.  They  are 
concerned  for  the  school  only  at  annual  elections 
and  the  only  problems  they  consider  are  those  of 
looking  dignified  at  the  desk  and  putting  up  a 

251 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

startling  imitation  of  the  preacher's  work  in  the 
other  pulpit. 

Now  we  ought  to  be  sure,  however,  that  we  really 
apply  the  test  of  efficiency  when  considering  a 
change  of  officers.  Is  the  undesirable  superin- 
tendent really  any  less  competent  than  the  rest  of 
us?  Is  he  incompetent  judged  by  the  real  work 
and  aims  of  a  church  school?  Perhaps  we  are 
demanding  that  he  make  bricks  without  even  clay, 
not  to  mention  straw.  Perhaps  we  are  demanding 
that  he  succeed  as  a  circus  agent  instead  of  as  a 
superintendent  of  a  school.  Is  he  leading  the 
school  to  produce  results  in  Christian  character 
in  youth?  Does  he  give  his  time  and  brains  to  its 
work?  Is  his  face  turned  to  making  a  better 
school  with  every  passing  season?  Is  he  the  best 
man  available  and  has  he  those  qualities  of  holy 
consecration  to  a  high  task,  executive  planning  and 
practical  application  which  so  important  an  in- 
stitution has  the  right  to  have?  The  officers  who 
must  |go  are  those  who  either  cannot  or  will  not 
work  at  their  real  tasks. 

There  are  many  communities  where  even  the 
best  man,  or  woman,  available  will  be  incompetent 
if  judged  by  the  standards  of  more  favored  places. 
The  point  for  consideration  is  whether  your  offi- 
cer is  the  most  competent  you  can  have  and  prob- 
ably this  is  best  tested  by  whether  he  is  at  all 
alive  to  the  possibility  of  improvement  and 
whether  he  really  gives  himself  to  his  job. 

If  it  is  certain  that  the  work  of  the  school  would 
be  advanced  by  removing  him  then  plans  for  se- 
lecting the  right  substitute  and  placing  him  in 

252 


CRISES  IN  SCHOOL  MANx^GEMENT 

nomination  and  securing  liis  election  or  appoint- 
ment by  the  church  are  of  primary  importance. 
Yet  they  must  not  engross  our  attention  to  the 
exclusion  of  such  a  program  of  development  in 
the  school  itself  as  would  automatically  lose  and 
leave  behind  any  officer  who  is  not  efficient.  Let 
the  teachers  themselves  know  what  efficiency 
means ;  let  them  study  better  methods  and  become 
so  familiar  with  competent  school  organization 
and  management  that  they  will  really  know  the 
weak  spots  in  their  own  schools.  Let  them  be  so 
well  posted,  so  thoroughly  grounded  in  the  work 
of  the  school  that  they  will  fairly  put  to  shame  the 
lazy  and  ignorant  superintendent.  If  he  insists 
on  hanging  on  to  his  office  simply  leave  him  high 
and  dry  on  his  pedestal  of  personal  pride  while 
the  school  sweeps  on  in  its  tide  of  improvement. 

Whenever  we  are  persuaded  that  the  leading 
officer  is  incompetent  the  very  first  thing  to  do  is 
to  examine  into  the  competency  of  those  who 
should  support  him.  It  is  so  easy  for  all  others 
to  lean  back  and  expect  the  superintendent  to  pull 
them  forward.  "When  the  school  does  not  ^*go'' 
they  forget  that  they  not  only  have  not  pushed  it 
forward,  they  have  pulled  it  back  because  of  their 
ignorance  of  how  and  where  it  should  go.  If  the 
critics  of  officers  would  make  themselves  really 
efficient,  their  criticism  would  often  expire  in  co- 
operation. 

Sometimes  the  indifferent  superintendent  is 
stirred  to  endeavor  and  achieve  better  things 
when  he  catches  the  contagion  of  improvement  in 
his  working  force.    If  the  school  is  saturated  with 

253 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

an  atmosphere  of  earnest  effort  after  better  ways 
lie  will  either  have  to  submit  to  some  of  the  satura- 
tion or  get  out.  In  season  and  out  of  season  let 
his  cooperators  cooperate  to  push  the  school  along. 
If  he  has  any  qualities  of  leadership  he  will  not 
be  content  to  drag  at  the  tail  end  of  progress.  If 
a  moving,  progressive  school  does  not  compel  him 
to  undertake  leadership  in  an  adequate  way,  then 
he  never  can  be  a  real  superintendent  no  matter 
how  much  he  may  insist  on  standing  up  in  front. 
Nothing  then  remains  but  the  program  of  a  change 
of  leaders. 

Even  then  we  must  remember  that  the  whole 
problem  of  efficient  leadership  in  the  school  is  one 
which  goes  very  much  deeper  than  any  immediate 
scheme  of  changing  officers.  We  do  not  have  effi- 
cient officers  and  we  are  constantly  under  the 
necessity  of  attempting  the  retirement  of  the  in- 
competent because  we  have  no  provision  for  mak- 
ing and  training  officers.  We  have  just  made  a 
fairly  good  start  in  the  work  of  training  teachers ; 
is  it  not  now  time  we  made  a  serious  beginning  in 
the  work  of  training  officers  and  leaders? 

The  officers  now  in  service  in  any  school  should 
be  always  on  the  alert  to  discover  young  men 
capable  of  developing  powers  of  leadership.  Just 
as  the  good  old  dominie  always  had  his  eyes  open 
to  discover  and  encourage  the  possible  minister 
of  the  gospel,  so  we  ought  to  take  delight  in  dis- 
covering young  laymen  who  will  become  efficient 
in  religious  leadership.  Then  these  young  men — 
or  young  women — ought  to  be  trained  for  that 
work  both  by  courses  in  theory  and  by  experience 

254 


CEISES  IN  SCHOOL  MANAGEMENT 

in  practice.  The  young  people  who  are  not  called 
to  teach — and  there  are  those  who  are  certainly 
not  so  called — should  be  encouraged  to  study  the 
business  end  of  the  school  and  the  executive  side 
of  church  and  school  work.  There  ought  always 
to  be  for  young  workers  a  class  in  school  organ- 
ization and  management. 

Then  we  would  be  ready  to  see  the  opportunities 
for  training  future  officers  in  the  present  work  of 
the  school.  There  is  a  chance  to  train  young 
lads,  looldng  forward  to  this  service,  both  in  the 
minor  offices,  such  as  assistant  secretaries,  li- 
brarians and  ushers,  and  also  by  creating  the 
office  of  *^ Assistants  to  the  Superintendents."' 
These  latter  should  be  a  First  Assistant,  one 
capable  of  doing  the  work  and  taking  the  place 
of  the  Superintendent,  and  then  others  who  are 
to  undertake  such  duties  as  he  may  assign  them. 
These  duties  would  include  many  of  the  details 
which  now  take  up  the  superintendent's  time. 

There  is  therefore  a  duty  not  only  before  the 
school  facing  the  crisis  of  getting  rid  of  a  poor 
superintendent,  but  before  all  schools  or  rather 
resting  on  all  churches  to  train  up  efficient  and 
competent  workers  for  positions  of  leadership. 
Trained  leaders  would  solve  the  problem  before 
it  arises. 

in.    RETIKING  A  TEACHER 

It  is  true  that  one-half  of  the  problem  of  the 
church  school  is  the  difficulty  of  securing  teach- 
ers, but  when  you  come  to  the  task  of  dropping  an 

255 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

old  teacher  it  often  turns  out  to  be  more  difficult 
than  picking  up  a  dozen  new  ones. 

No  superintendent  is  likely  to  go  very  far  with 
an  intelligent  interest  in  the  real  needs  of  his 
school  before  he  discovers  at  least  one  teacher  who 
has  no  right  to  even  occupy  the  time  of  a  class. 
Such  a  teacher  may  seem  to  have  the  utmost  devo- 
tion to  her  task,  but  she  is  usually  mistaken  as  to 
the  nature  of  true  devotion  and  even  more  serious- 
ly in  ignorance  as  to  the  nature  of  her  task.  A 
sympathetic  superintendent  must  keep  his  head 
clear  as  to  the  characteristics  of  the  teacher  ^s 
consecration.  When  he  realizes  that  the  class  is 
profiting  nothing  and  is  even  being  hindered  in 
its  work  by  the  teacher  he  must  not  allow  the  well- 
meant  pleading  of  others  about  the  teacher's  de- 
votion to  keep  him  from  his  duty. 

The  school  has  a  right  to  demand  consecration 
in  the  teacher.  But  consecration  is  much  more 
than  a  feeling  of  ^'laying  all  on  the  altar'';  it  is 
the  unreserved  endeavor  not  only  to  give  all  that 
you  have  but  to  have  all  that  you  ought  to  give. 
Consecration  is  the  endeavor  to  be  all  that  you 
may  be  in  efficiency,  competency,  ability  for  your 
work.  It  is  consecration  to  the  service  of  lifting 
up  your  own  powers  for  the  sake  of  larger  service ; 
it  seeks  to  have  gifts  worthy  of  the  altar.  The 
best  of  the  teacher's  consecration  is  more  than 
fidelity  to  a  place  or  a  job,  it  is  fidelity  to  an  ideal. 

The  superintendent  exhibits  consecration  by  his 
fidelity  to  the  ultimate  usefulness  of  the  school  for 
the  good  of  the  child  and  the  development  of  the 
kingdom.    When  he  must  choose  among  debatable 

256 


CEISES  IX  SCHOOL  MANAGEMENT 

courses  of  administration  the  ultimate  purpose 
must  dominate  even  considerations  of  peace  in  his 
faculty  or  the  goodwill  of  his  co-workers.  His 
efficiency  is  manifest  in  securing  with  the  least 
possible  waste  of  effort  the  largest  results  in 
Giristian  character  in  his  school.  The  peaceful 
school  may  be  only  sleeping — while  children  are 
growing  and  days  of  life-determination  are  pass- 
ing. The  superintendent  must  not  shun  the  un- 
pleasant tasks  when  the  welfare  of  youth  calls  him 
to  them.  Indeed  he  is  called  to  conduct  the  school, 
not  simply  to  have  a  pleasant,  dignified,  pride-min- 
istering position. 

Yet  no  superintendent  ought  to  be  alone  in  this 
responsibility  of  engaging  and  removing  teachers. 
Even  in  the  smallest  school  he  should  have  some 
one  with  whom  to  advise,  the  pastor  at  any  rate. 
He  should  have  also  the  committee  appointed  by 
the  church  as  a  ^^  board  of  religious  education '*  to 
ser^'e  as  would  any  board  of  education  or  school 
board  in  the  village.  They  must  share  the  respon- 
sibility of  determining  the  fitness  of  teachers  on 
the  superintendent's  recommendations.  No  church 
is  too  small  to  have  such  a  board  nor  too  large  to 
get  along  without  it. 

Ordinarily  the  crises  in  a  school  differ  from 
those  we  meet  on  the  street  or  in  a  railroad  acci- 
dent. They  are  not  best  met  by  a  sudden,  im- 
petuous grappling  with  them,  nor  by  hair-trigger 
decisions.  The  custom  of  deliberation  over  prob- 
lems in  the  council  of  a  board  of  education  will 
not,  or  ought  not  to  be  a  method  of  evading  them 

257 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

but  a  means  of  syndicating  brains  and  taking  time 
to  meet  them  wisely. 

A  fair  sized  school  ought  to  have  others  co- 
operating with  the  superintendent  in  meeting  his 
difficulties.  Where  there  exist  several  ^'dejDart- 
ments^'  each  one  ought  to  have  its  Principal,  an 
officer  for  the  immediate  supervision  of  all  its 
work.  These  principals  would  form  the  advisory 
body  to  the  superintendent. 

Still  the  problem  remains :  how  shall  we  remove 
this  teacher  1  First,  carefully  determine  why  this 
teacher  must  leave  the  class.  Is  this  a  case  of 
sheer  inability  to  teach?  Then  practice  the  prin- 
ciples of  conservation ;  do  not  throw  away  a  ham- 
mer because  you  cannot  saw  wood  with  it.  Dis- 
cover its  compensating  talents.  Save  both  class 
and  teacher  by  giving  the  latter  something  she 
can  do.  Many  an  excellent  manager,  recruiting 
officer,  or  office  worker  has  been  spoiled  trying 
to  be  a  teacher.  Perhaps  it  is  only  a  case  of 
inability  to  teach  that  particular  class.  It  does 
take  different  persons  to  teach  boys  and  to  teach 
the  adult  Bible  class.  Do  not  try  to  use  a  sledge 
to  drive  tacks  nor  a  chisel  to  dig  post  holes.  A 
simple  change  of  teachers  may  solve  your  problem. 

Sometimes  the  case  is  simply  one  of  physical 
weariness  or  nervous  breakdown.  God  has  to 
have  bodies  with  nerves  for  his  work  among  boys 
and  girls.  A  vacation  may  save  the  day  or  a 
temporary  change  of  occupation.  It  is  a  poor 
kind  of  consecration  to  keep  the  tool  at  the  job 
when  it  is  getting  red  hot.  Many  a  load  laid  on 
our  consciences  ought  to  be  carried  by  our  con- 

258 


CRISES  IN  SCHOOL  MANAGEMENT 

stitutions.  Give  every  teacher  a  chance  to  regain 
that  essential  to  any  harmony  and  helpfulness  to 
youth,  health. 

If  the  foregoing  considerations  are  canvassed 
more  than  half  the  cases  of  changing  teachers 
will  be  met.  But  there  remains  the  most  difficult 
one,  that  of  the  indifferent  teacher,  the  indolent 
teacher  or  the  one  who  is  fit  neither  to  teach  nor 
to  work  in  the  school  because  of  unworthiness  of 
character.  There  is  only  one  thing  to  do  here; 
the  difficulty  lies  not  so  much  in  the  case  as  in  our 
irresolution,  our  dread  of  disturbance.  The 
teacher  who  will  not  perspire  and  cannot  be  in- 
spired must  be  fired.  But  we  must  be  careful  not 
to  do  it  with  a  hot  head.  Nor  is  it  necessary  to  set 
the  school  afire  to  do  it.  It  is  hardly  worth  while 
to  burn  the  barn  to  get  rid  of  the  rats. 

The  best  way  to  dismiss  a  teacher  who  must  be 
dismissed  is  to  dismiss  her,  or  him.  But  still  the 
method  may  have  gradations  of  usefulness.  It  is 
best  to  m^e  several  changes  at  the  same  time. 
Let  the  re-adjustment  be  a  part  of  a  general  re- 
organization. Since  the  school  is  not  a  discipli- 
nary institution  it  is  not  necessary  to  bring  for- 
mal charges  of  unfitness  against  a  teacher;  leave 
that  to  the  church.  But  be  gently  frank  if  frank- 
ness be  demanded.  Do  not  judge  character  in 
itself  but  judge  the  person's  fitness  to  lead,  to 
teach  the  group  in  the  class.  Give  the  principal 
reason  for  the  change,  that  this  class  needs  a 
teacher  able  to  fit  into  the  whole  purpose  and 
plan  of  the  school.  State  this  first;  then  if  pos- 
sible, if  you  can  be  helpful,  state  plainly  and 

259 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODEEN  CHUKCH 

kindly  that  the  habits  of  this  teacher  are  not  the 
ones  that  these  pupils  should  imitate.  Why  not 
put  the  case  plainly  before  the  teacher,  showing 
how  life  is  more  than  the  words,  how  the  whole 
purpose  of  the  school  will  be  defeated  if  it  en- 
dorses a  wrong  life  by  continuing  such  a  teacher 
in  office.  Even  though  the  teacher  be  only  in- 
dolent that  is  a  vice  which,  emphasized  by  the 
responsibility  voluntarily  undertaken  in  teaching, 
becomes  hypocrisy  and  is  exceedingly  dangerous 
when  endorsed  in  religious  work  for  youth.  You 
can  be  frank  with  the  delinquent  teacher  when 
and  only  when  your  purpose  is  really  to  help  and 
not  at  all  to  censor  or  scold.  It  may  be,  it  has 
often  happened,  that  a  plain,  tender  talk  has 
helped  the  teacher  not  only  to  give  up  the  class 
but  to  give  up  the  damaging  vices. 

After  all,  one  would  a  good  deal  rather  deal 
with  the  bad  person  than  with  the  wholly  negative 
one.  No  teacher  presents  a  greater  difficulty  than 
the  one  who  is  neither  good  nor  bad,  the  one  who 
is  only  ^'good,'*  that  is  good  for  nothing  in  par- 
ticular. The  type  is  familiar.  But  you  cannot 
afford  to  waste  youth ^s  years  of  opportunity  by 
leaving  them  in  the  hands  of  such  a  person.  You 
will  have  to  face  the  objection,  **But  I  do  love 
my  class  so  much.''  You  vnll  have  to  decide 
whether  that  personal  bond  is  bringing  larger 
character  results  to  the  pupils  than  would  come 
with  an  efficient  teacher.  It  may  be  this  teacher 
would  be  able  to  plus  affection  with  efficiency  in 
some  other  class,  perhaps  of  younger  ones.  Has 
she  grown  up  with  her  class  for  years?     Can 

260 


CRISES  IX  SCHOOL  MAXAGEMEXT 

she  be  brought  with  patient  tact  to  see  how  much 
more  valuable  she  would  be  in  another  position? 
It  is  no  enviable  task  to  transfer  teachers,  still 
less  to  retire  them.  But  it  can  be  done  if,  first, 
we  keep  our  own  minds  and  the  minds  of  all  work- 
ers steadily  on  this  consideration,  that  the  largest 
possible  efficiency  is  the  development  of  Chris- 
tian character  in  youth,  and,  second,  if  we  pro- 
vide teachers  ready  and  capable  of  taking  the 
places  of  those  who  must  leave  classes.  The  duty 
of  the  superintendent  is  to  see  that  every  class 
has  the  very  best  teacher  available  or  procura- 
ble ;  for  this  he  will  be  held  eternally  responsible. 

IV.      THE   SCHOOL   WRECKEB 

A  Sunday-school  worker,  speaking  at  a  local 
convention,  once  referred  to  the  superintendent  as 
an  '^ex-e-cutive^'  officer.  Doubtless  he  was  think- 
ing of  the  wholly  natural  inclination  of  the  su- 
perintendent to  execute  that  boy  who,  when  he 
gets  wound  up,  bids  fair  to  wreck  the  whole 
school. 

What  shall  be  done  with  the  apparently  incor- 
rigible boy,  the  disturber  of  the  peace,  the  trig- 
ger for  every  mischief  explosion  in  the  school? 

If  one  were  prescribing  for  the  case  from  theory- 
alone  the  answer  would  be  easy.  We  would  say, 
*4ove  him;  make  a  friend  of  him;  pray  with  him" 
— or  some  such  smooth  and  easy  advice.  But  hav- 
ing seen  the  boy  many  times ;  perhaps  having  been 
the  boy  at  times,  and  having  noticed  that  the  boy 
is  sometimes  a  girl,  altos:ether  some  twenty  odd 

261 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

years  of  first-hand  acquaintance  with  the  problem 
in  actual  schools  prohibits  a  facile  and  warranted 
prescription  and  confines  us  to  some  considera- 
tions that  may  be  helpful. 

Some  schools  seem  seldom  or  never  to  have 
these  boys.  Not  that  they  do  not  have  live,  bois- 
terous, normal  fellows,  but  they  do  not  give  them 
a  chance  to  let  in  the  clutch  at  the  wrong  time. 
The  lawless  boy  is  not  in  evidence  in  the  school 
that  is  under  law.  The  more  completely  and  con- 
stantly all  parts  of  the  school  are  engaged  in  or- 
derly activity  the  less  the  temptation  for  any  in- 
dividual to  get  into  lawless  activity.  These  schools 
that  seem  to  be  immune  are  always  really  live 
affairs,  under  direction  and  with  a  life  of  action 
that  enlists  the  respect  and  activities  of  these 
boys.     They  are  actually  superintended. 

Probably  the  first  question  to  ask  when  deal- 
ing with  the  case  of  a  boy  found  wantonly  dis- 
turbing the  school  is,  ^  *  what  else  was  there  for  him 
to  do?''  If  the  answer  is,  *' nothing  except  to  sit 
still,''  then  you  were  asking  the  impossible  of 
the  boy.  A  chance  to  do  niching  is  an  invitation 
to  stir  up  something.  If  there  is  one  condition 
more  intolerable  to  young  people  than  all  others' 
it  is  that  of  *' nothing  doing."  I  remember  the 
glistening  eyes  of  a  ten-year-old  as  he  explained 
that  the  principal  attraction  of  a  certain  summer 
vacation  was  that  ^Hhere  was  something  to  do 
every  minute."  If  you  would  have  cahn  in  the 
school,  let  it  be  the  calm  of  ordered  action,  the 
constant  direction  of  attention  in  definite  avenues 
all  the  time. 

262 


CRISES  IN  SCHOOL  MANAGEMENT 

Next,  some  teachers  seem  always  to  have  *^bad 
boys'';  others  take  them  and  we  forget  the  boys' 
badness.  A  young  creature  will  seldom  disap- 
point you.  If  you  look  for  meanness  he  will  do 
his  best  to  satisfy  you.  The  teacher  who  is  a  pes- 
simist on  the  subject  of  youth  should  be  sent  to 
the  old  folks'  class;  he  may  be  safe  in  polemics 
and  helpful  on  eschatology  but  he  is  not  to  be 
trusted  with  boys.  Nagging,  faultfinding  people, 
martinets  and  smile-less  souls  must  have  a  place 
in  God's  world  but  not  in  the  Intermediate  depart- 
ment of  the  Sunday  school. 

The  disturber  is  usually  a  leader.  One  quality 
always  marks  a  leader,  he  is  being  led  himself; 
some  ideal — it  may  be  a  foolish  or  a  bad  one — or 
some  person  is  before  him.  He  is  capable  of  large 
loyalty.  You  can  lead  him,  but  you  cannot  drive 
him.  He  needs  a  friend;  he  needs  to  know  you 
better  than  a  once-a-week  contact  permits.  If 
you  can  know  him  in  the  week,  and  show  him  how 
to  do  some  manly  things  by  doing  them  with  him, 
you  can  lead  him  on  Sunday.  If  he  can  really 
know  you — and  you  are  worth  knowing,  he  will 
follow  you.    Then  the  others  will  follow  him. 

Whatever  you  do  don't  plead  with  that  unruly 
boy;  don't  beg  him  to  give  you  peace.  Whining 
and  begging  for  pity  will  get  you  nowhere  with 
him.  He  expects  you  to  do  your  job  and  cannot 
respect  you  if  you  do  not  make  good.  Appeal- 
ing to  his  sympathy  is  one  thing;  but  calling  out 
his  service  is  another.  If  he  is  a  leader  depend 
on  him  to  lead;  call  on  him  to  work;  count  on 
him  for  definite  tasks  as  in  preparing  the  class 

263 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

room,  its  chairs,  books  and  papers.  He  is  look- 
ing for  a  chance  to  do  something;  give  him  a 
good  chance  before  he  finds  a  bad  one. 

With  all  this,  memory  suggests  that  there  are 
cases  not  reached  by  any  of  these  suggestions. 
Not  that  the  boy  is  incorrigible  but  that  the  Sun- 
day school  is  not  the  place  to  effect  his  reform. 
This  school  meets  for  only  an  hour;  it  meets  to 
worship  and  study.  The  process  of  reforming 
boys  who  have  had  long  training  in  vicious  habits 
or  who  are  without  any  training  in  the  habits  of 
school  and  social  cooperation  is  too  large  and 
long  for  the  school  period.  This  boy  is  in  the 
school  for  an  hour  and  for  all  the  rest  of  the 
week  in  a  home,  on  the  streets  or  in  workshops 
that  train  to  lawless  viciousness.  The  contest 
is  too  unequal.  You  will  have  to  get  a  longer 
period  of  influence  in  order  to  change  him.  He 
cannot  be  changed  save  by  a  fundamental  change 
in  his  whole  being  and  to  meet  that  need  the  church 
must  set  itself. 

You  face  the  question,  shall  we  turn  a  boy  out? 
When  that  means  the  alternative,  shall  he  wreck 
a  school  or  even  a  class,  there  can  be  but  one 
answer.  The  one  boy  must  be  sacrificed  to  the 
many.  The  school  must  go  on  with  its  work.  But 
when  you  turn  him  out  turn  him  out  into  some- 
thing. We  dare  not  exercise  the  power  of  cast- 
ing into  outer  darkness.  If  society  has  reform 
schools  should  not  the  church  employ  special  agen- 
cies for  these  special  cases.  The  boy  cannot  go 
into  the  school  unless  he  will  submit  to  its  laws 
and  fit  into  its  life.    But  we  must  not  give  him 

264 


CRISES  IN  SCHOOL  MANAGEMENT 

up,  we  must  get  him  ready  for  that  life.  If  he 
can  understand  it  tell  him  that.  In  any  case 
quietly  and  privately  arrange  to  put  him  in  charge 
of  a  '^big  brother"  who  will  get  his  friendship, 
persuade  him  to  go  his  ways,  and  particularly, 
bring  the  boy  into  the  play  and  club  life  of  the 
church.  Let  him  get  his  first  schooling  in  the 
organizations  of  boy  life  where  he  will  learn  the 
rules  of  the  game.  Give  his  big  brother  freedom 
from  other  tasks  so  that  he  may  have  time  for 
the  larger  curriculum  this  boy  needs.  The  trouble 
with  him  is  that  he  is  a  laggard  in  the  school 
where  the  art  of  living  with  others  is  learned. 
This  lesson  he  must  begin  to  get  before  he  can 
come  into  the  Sunday  school.  His  attitude  of 
rebellion  shuts  the  doors  of  his  life  to  religion 
in  the  school.  The  school  must  designate  one 
who  will  secure  its  entrance  through  doors  of  in- 
terest opened  in  companionship  through  play  and 
under  direct,  personal  friendship.  Commit  your 
problem  boy — not  to  the  hopele«5s  outside — ^but  to 
the  larger,  wider  school  of  a  friendship  that 
touches  many  sides  of  his  life. 


265 


CHAPTER  XYII 

CEISES  AS  OPPORTUNITIES 

At  some  time  in  its  history  every  Sunday  school 
comes  to  a  halt;  at  some  time  in  his  experience 
almost  every  superintendent  who  is  awake  and 
at  all  sensible  to  facts  asks  himself,  ^'Why  are 
we  at  a  standstill?''  Others  say,  ^^We  did  run 
well;  what  doth  hinder?"  Every  observer  has 
seen  more  than  one  school,  having  earned  laurels 
for  its  development,  its  increase  and  efficiency, 
appear  to  die  in  its  tracks,  like  an  athlete  who 
has  spent  all  his  powers.  Schools  that  once  were 
generally  admired  are  standing  on  the  track  like 
engines  with  only  enough  steam  left  to  blow  the 
whistle  once  in  a  while.  When  this  comes  to  pass 
it  is  a  good  thing  if  there  are  enough  people, 
conscious  of  the  situation,  who  get  down  on  the 
ground  and  look  the  whole  concern  over  in  an 
etfort  to  discover  the  causes  and  apply  the  rem- 
edies. 

FACING  THE  CRISIS  OF  STANDING  STILL 

Probably  the  most  common  cause  of  this  par- 
alysis is  that  in  Sunday  schools,  as  elsewhere,  we 
forget  the  law  of  the  passing  generations;  we 
forget  that  every  thirty  years  brings  a  new  race 
of  people,  a  new  human  equipment  to  the  work- 

266 


CEISES  AS  OPPORTUNITIES 

ing  point.  We  fail  to  provide  for  the  retirement 
of  those  who  have  passed  their  maximum  efficiency 
and  for  the  enlistment  of  those  who  are  coming 
into  it.  Few  schools  deliberately  plan  to  develop 
the  forces  that  must  do  their  work  in  the  future, 
to  enlist  the  life  of  the  church  when  it  is  at  its 
best  and  to  keep  a  working  force  always  at  the 
high  tide  of  its  powers.  Great  business  concerns 
achieve  marked  success  under  the  push,  spirit, 
vim  and  initiative  of  young  men;  they  stand  at 
a  high  place  until  those  young  men  become  old 
men,  behind  the  methods  of  the  new  day;  their 
powers  decline  while  the  young  men,  the  possible 
engines  of  advance,  stand  halting  behind. 

The  halt  that  comes  when  we  seem  to  have  ex- 
hausted our  old  resources,  when  the  program  be- 
comes flat,  stale  and  uninteresting  is  the  very 
opportunity  the  school  should  welcome.  No  one, 
in  that  hour,  is  disposed  to  question  attempts  at 
reformation.  Minds  are  ripe  for  it.  But  before 
reformation  comes  patient  study  and  much  in- 
quiry into  the  task  of  a  school.  Often  it  is  better 
not  to  attempt  a  diagnosis  of  the  local  case;  a 
study  of  healthy  success  will  take  you  farther 
than  any  amount  of  pathology  of  the  sick  school. 
The  wise  leader  will  seize  the  moment  to  bring 
to  all  the  workers  every  possible  fact  regarding 
better  methods,  regarding  the  type  of  work  being 
done  in  other  schools,  especially  those  that  have 
kept  up  with  educational  advance.  The  hour  of 
school  anaemia  is  the  hour  to  administer  plenty  of 
iron  in  the  form  of  facts  on  modem  methods. 

267 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

Then  instead  of  a  reformation  there  is  likely  to 
be  a  transformation. 

Next,  it  is  the  one  finest  opportunity  to  get  an 
infusion  of  new  blood.  Most  schools  that  stand 
still  do  so  because  of  official  decrepitude. 

It  is  not  a  question  of  discarding  old  and  tried 
servants,  but  it  is  a  question  of  training  up  in 
each  new  generation  those  who  shall  carry  on 
the  work  of  that  generation.  Let  each  school  that 
stands  still  ask  whether  it  has  the  energy  of  a 
fair  share  of  young  men.  When  the  school  went 
forward  with  vigor  was  it  not  under  the  leader- 
ship of  a  group  of  people  who  came  to  its  work 
with  the  enthusiasm  and  hope  of  youth  and  early 
manhood?  At  the  time  when  those  people  were 
doing  their  great  work  there  were  in  that  school 
snub-nosed  boys  and  girls  with  pig-tails  who  now 
are  of  the  age  and  the  powers  that  those  leaders 
then  had;  did  the  school  plan  to  make  sure  that 
the  boys  and  girls  were  drafted  into  the  service? 
Is  the  school  giving  them  now  the  same  chance 
that  it  gave  to  its  present  leaders  when  they  first 
put  their  hands  to  the  plough? 

If  the  school  is  suffering  from  the  lack  of  young- 
er leaders,  of  those  who  belong  in  the  tide  of 
their  strength  to  this  day,  the  cure  is  not  imme- 
diately to  turn  out  all  the  older  folk.  The  seri- 
ous question  is  as  to  whether  the  younger  ones 
can  be  used,  whether  they  have  been  held  to  the 
school  by  ties  of  interest  and  to  its  work  by  any 
degree  of  intelligent  preparation.  One  of  the 
most  serious  shortcomings  of  the  average  school 
is  this  failure  to  get  ready  for  tomorrow,  a  failure 

268 


CEISES  AS  OPPORTUNITIES 

to  prepare  its  boys  and  girls  to  do  their  work  as 
men  and  women  in  the  school. 

Now,  since  you  must  have  some  of  these  young- 
er workers,  and  since  there  is  no  such  thing  as 
post-preparation,  the  first  step  is  to  enlist  some 
of  these  younger  men  and  women  in  the  new  task 
of  gathering  and  guiding  those  who  are  still 
younger  in  preparation  for  Sunday-school  useful- 
ness. Get  young  men  and  young  women  to  look 
at  this  problem,  suggest  this  line  of  solution,  in- 
vite them  to  pick  out  the  youth  of  fifteen  up  and 
gather  them  in  groups  to  talk  over  the  ^^How 
and  Why  and  What''  of  the  different  kinds  of 
things  the  school  is  doing.  You  will  find  the  boys 
and  girls  easily  gathering  about  these  younger 
leaders.  Even  though  the  leaders  may  not  be 
experts  they  quickly  get  into  the  work,  become 
so  interested  that  they  will  study  hard  on  its  pro]> 
lems  and  become  both  efficient  and  enthusiastic 
teachers.  This  plan  also  enlists  them  in  work  at 
once,  tries  them  out  and  prepares  them  for  fur- 
ther service.  It  gives  the  young  men  and  women, 
those  of  whom  we  hear  that  they  have  refused 
to  work  in  the  school,  the  kind  of  a  task  they 
want.  It  has  been  often  found  that  the  very 
people  who  have  repeatedly  refused  the  blank  in- 
vitation to  ^^Come  in  and  help  in  the  school," 
or  to  '^Take  a  Class,"  would  accept  with  alac- 
rity the  opportunity  to  undertake  a  definite  new 
piece  of  work. 

Other  younger  people  will  be  found  ready  for 
definite  tasks  in  the  school  itself.  Why  should  a 
mature  man  or  woman  continue  to  act  as  secre- 

269 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

tary,  often  going  round  as  mechanically  as  a  caged 
bear  in  his  tracks,  when  two  or  three  youths  would 
be  delighted  to  take  the  work,  would  do  it  with 
efficiency,  would  show  the  people  who  are  just 
a  little  younger  that  it  was  nothing  foolish  or  un- 
manly, but  the  contrary,  to  do  religious  work  and, 
in  the  service,  would  themselves  grow  in  Chris- 
tian character? 

The  first  remedy,  then,  is  to  draft  in  more  of 
the  life  of  today  into  the  work  of  today.  And  in 
applying  the  remedy  let  some  of  us  who  have 
forgotten  how  swiftly  the  last  ten  or  twenty  years 
have  passed  ask  ourselves  whether  we  might  not 
be  doing  good  service  to  take  hold  of  people  ten 
or  twentj^  years  younger  and  get  them  ready  for 
our  jobs. 

Another  cause  of  schools  dying  on  the  track  is 
that,  having  earned  reputation,  having  been 
adorned  mth  laurels,  they  are  satisfied  with  the 
reputation;  they  sit  down  and  repose  on  the 
laurels.  The  price  of  making  progress  is  that  we 
have  to  keep  it  up.  We  may  not  be  able  to  keep 
a  unique  position  of  leadership,  but  we  must  put 
the  same  energy  into  the  task  of  today  that  won 
for  us  success  in  the  task  of  yesterday.  Beware 
of  the  temptations  of  a  great  name.  It  might  be 
said  that  giving  a  school  a  good  name  at  least 
subjects  it  to  grave  danger  of  losing  it. 

Some  schools  stand  still  for  lack  of  adaptabil- 
ity. They  went  forward  with  remarkable  speed 
under  one  set  of  conditions  but  as  soon  as  those 
conditions  changed  they  came  to  a  halt.  It  is 
necessary  to  ask  whether  the  school  is  working 

270 


CEISES  AS  OPPOETUNITIES 

"imder  the  same  conditions  as  in  its  palmy  days. 
Is  it  now  ministering  to  a  changed  population  with 
the  methods  that  worked  well  before  the  change? 
Has  the  neighborhood  changed  from  the  village 
to  the  city  type?  Has  it  changed  in  racial  char- 
acter? Have  all  the  new  conditions  that  rise  so 
rapidly  in  growing  villages  and  cities  been  taken 
into  consideration?  Here,  then,  is  another  op- 
portunity, the  opportunity,  in  the  hour  of  apathy 
to  re-discover  ourselves.  This  is  to  be  accom- 
plished by  means  of  the  type  of  survey  suggested 
in  Chapter  V. 

THE   CRISIS   OF   OVEKCROWDING 

A  crisis  can  be  an  opportunity.  It  is  a  turn- 
ing point  and  usually  there  are  two  ways  open  at 
such  a  time.  You  have  heard  superintendents 
say,  ^*Our  trouble  is  we  are  too  successful,  we 
have  more  people  than  we  can  take  care  of. ' '  The 
implied  boast  is,  in  most  instances,  a  confession 
of  failure  to  live  up  to  one's  opportunities.  No 
school  has  a  right  to  have  more  than  it  can  care 
for;  it  must  care  for  them,  and  that  quickly,  or 
it  will  not  have  them  long. 

Whenever  a  church  is  regularly  filled  to  over- 
flowing— and  usually  before — the  minister  recog- 
nizes his  chance  and  begins  a  campaign  for  a  new 
building.  We  seem  to  think  of  the  Sunday-school 
as  an  institution  that  may  go  on  perpetually  grow- 
ing, but  never  needing  new  and  larger  quarters. 
That  is  because  we  are  still  under  the  strange  de- 
lusion of  giving  the  very  best  in  religion  to  adults 

271 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

and  letting  children  shift  for  themselves.  We 
invert  the  order  of  the  family  and  even  of  human 
society  which  more  and  more  realizes  that  if  we 
make  our  largest  investment  in  the  child  the  adult 
will  bring  the  increase. 

When  the  school  is  crowded,  what  practical 
steps  should  be  taken  to  relieve  the  situation?  Of 
course  there  are  those  schools  where  no  relief 
can  be  found  in  a  new  or  even  in  another  building. 
But  they  are  really  exceedingly  few.  More  suffer 
from  lack  of  imagination  and  lack  of  faith  than 
from  lack  of  opportunity.  Even  those  meeting  in 
country  schoolhouses  have  found  it  possible  to 
persuade  trustees  to  build  better  quarters,  and 
the  district  has  been  grateful  to  the  agitators. 
Those  meeting  in  stores  and  rented  quarters  have 
found  that  when  they  boldly  went  out  to  labor,  in- 
stead of  lamenting,  they  found  the  money  for 
larger  rooms.  But,  given  the  school  in  a  church, 
what  shall  be  done?  First,  determine  what  you 
really  need,  not  for  a  makeshift,  but  to  do  work 
properly.  How  many  classes,  how  much  room  for 
each,  classrooms,  rooms  for  accessories,  place  for 
supplies  and  what  is  needed  for  assemblies  and 
for  social  and  recreative  purposes?  Be  exact. 
Let  the  superintendent  meet  often  with  officers 
and  teachers,  working  over  detailed  plans.  Pre- 
pare a  precise  statement  of  needs,  based  on  pres- 
ent conditions  and  on  probable  developments.  To 
determine  the  latter,  study  your  neighborhood 
with  great  care.  Do  not  agitate  until  you  know 
what  you  want,  then  agitate  and  argue  with  facts. 
Turn  on  the  light  when  it  will  do  the  most 
272 


CEISES  AS  OPPOETUNITIES 

good.  The  school  is  the  responsibility  of  the 
church.  Plan  definitely  to  educate  your  church. 
Begin  with  the  pastor.  With  sympathy  for  all 
his  other  cares  show  him  so  plainly  the  needs  of 
the  school  that  he  will  be  your  strongest  ally. 
Make  him — and  through  him,  or  in  some  other 
way,  all  the  people — acquainted  with  the  facts; 
not  the  facts  of  the  building  yet,  but  of  the  vital 
interest  of  the  church  in  the  school.  Show  the 
ratio  between  Sunday-school  graduates  and  others 
in  the  church,  the  losses  through  inadequate  quar- 
ters, the  ratio  between  the  cost  of  gaining  a  child 
through  the  school  and  that  of  holding  the  saints — 
who  should  be  servants  in  the  church — ^the  ratio 
between  the  cost  per  member  of  the  two  plants, 
school  and  church.  It  is  possible  to  show  that 
a  dollar  invested  in  Sunday-school  plants  earns 
as  much  for  the  Kingdom  as  fifty  dollars  invested 
in  a  church  plant.  Show  this,  not  so  much  by 
way  of  reflecting  on  the  church  plant  as  to  em- 
phasize the  wisdom  of  Sunday-school  investments. 
Put  the  facts  in  form  to  attract,  to  convince; 
and  use  means  that  reach  the  people.  That  is  ad- 
vertising. Put  your  facts  before  the  eyes,  in  the 
form  of  exhibits^  that  is  diagrams  and  graphic 
figures.  Put  them  on  large  cards  in  the  church 
rooms  as  well  as  in  the  school.  Get  pictures  of 
modern  school  buildings,  like  Lake  Avenue  Bap- 
tist, Eochester,  N.  Y. ;  the  Congregational  of  Win- 
netka.  111.;  St.  PauPs  Methodist,  Cedar  Eapids, 
and  the  pictures  and  diagrams  in  Evan's  ^'The 
Sunday-School  Building.''  Persuade  your  local 
editor  to  tell  the  story  of  some  of  these  practical 

273 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODEEN  CHUECH 

plants.  It  will  do  no  harm  if  all  the  boys  and 
girls  get  to  talking  about  it,  the  old  folks  will 
w^ake  up  some  day.  It  will  not  be  long  before 
some  are  inquiring  for  details  and  particulars. 

Now  you  are  ready.  Your  plans  are  ready  for 
the  public  eye.  Show  drawings  of  your  build- 
ings, pictures  of  them.  Make  folks  hungry  for 
them  and  start  your  campaign.  There  is  only  one 
way  to  get  what  you  need,  that  is  to  go  after  it. 
Dreaming  is  good  to  begin  on,  and  agitation  to 
break  up  the  soil,  but  the  dream  is  never  a  reality 
except  through  faith  put  into  action.  Have  you 
seen  or  heard  of  the  many  splendid  buildings  of 
the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  rising  all  over  the  country?  They 
did  not  drop  from  heaven ;  they  were  dug  up  out 
of  pocketbooks.  Men  knew  what  was  needed ;  they 
had  faith  to  believe  that  men  would  respond,  and 
they  simply  went  out  after  the  funds. 

No  one  need  hesitate  to  ask  for  money  for 
schools.  Why  hesitate  to  ask  for  the  schools  of 
the  church!  No  one  needs  to  apologize  for  an 
appeal  on  behalf  of  the  child.  Why  hesitate  to 
appeal  for  the  religious  life  of  the  child?  No  one 
need  apologize  for  trying  to  do  business  efficiently. 
Why  hesitate  to  do  the  King^s  business  efficiently? 

Take  the  people  of  your  community  wholly  into 
your  confidence.  Tell  them  precisely,  by  facts 
and  pictures,  what  you  need  and  just  what  work 
you  are  going  to  do  in  the  new  quarters.  Be  sure 
you  have  a  work  planned  that  is  worthy  of  the 
investment  sought.  Put  the  appeal  in  terms  of 
an  opportunity,  not  as  a  matter  of  pity  or  charity. 

Be  sure  to  keep  your  methods  up  to  the  level 
274 


CRISES  AS  OPPORTUNITIES 

of  your  plans  for  the  school.  Do  not  drop  a 
great  enterprise  down  to  the  level  of  dime  sup- 
pers and  catch-penny  devices.  Ask  boldly  for 
money  gifts  because  this  is  an  enterprise  which 
will  do  the  largest  amount  of  good  with  those 
who  are  most  susceptible  to  help,  because  it  is 
a  better  thing  to  make  one  good  boy  or  girl  than 
it  is  to  restrain  many  bad  men  or  women. 

Count  on  the  answer  of  a  community  to  the 
higher  good,  to  the  religious  welfare  of  youth,  to 
the  appeal  of  a  child.  But  remember  you  are  deal- 
ing with  hard-headed  folks.  Be  sure  your  plans 
have  been  so  carefully  considered  that  it  is  evi- 
dent this  school  building  is  worth  investing  in, 
that  it  is  modem  and  efficient.  You  need  more 
than  room,  you  need  a  plant  designed  exactly  for 
the  work  you  are  to  do  in  it.  No  time  is  wasted 
in  finding  out  just  what  is  needed,  what  are  the 
best  plans.  Do  not  be  misled  by  architects'  pic- 
tures. The  average  architect  knows  as  much  about 
a  church-schooPs  needs  as  you  know  about  navi- 
gation on  Mars.    Find  out  plans  that  really  work. 

The  whole  matter  resolves  itself  into  a  few 
questions :  Do  you  need  a  building?  Do  you  really 
desire  it  1  Can  you  make  your  church — or  its  lead- 
ers— see  the  need?  Can  you  put  your  plans  into 
practical  form?  Have  you  faith  enough  to  go  out 
after  it? 

WHEN  GRADED  LESSONS  FAIL 

One  hears  so  much  regarding  graded-lesson 
problems  that  it  is  evident  we  have  already  passed 
the  period  of  argumentation  on  their  fundamental 

275 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

rightness  and  have  come  to  that  of  the  study  of 
their  place  and  adjustment.  To  many  ardent  ad- 
vocates of  graded  lessons,  and  to  others  perplexed 
and  disappointed  after  experimentation  with  these 
lessons,  one  feels  inclined  to  suggest  two  simple 
propositions :  first,  one  plum  is  not  the  whole  of 
a  cake;  and,  second,  you  cannot  cure  corns  with 
cod-liver  oil. 

The  first  error  is  that  of  regarding  the  graded 
lessons  as  a  medicine ;  they  are  to  be  classed  not 
with  drugs,  but  with  diet.  They  are  not  a  chemi- 
cal nor  mechanical  process  of  remedy ;  they  are  a 
return  to  natural  law,  an  application  of  the  sim- 
ple proposition  that,  since  children  are  naturally 
at  varying  stages  of  development,  they  should 
be  grouped  according  to  these  stages,  and  appro- 
priate food  for  mind  or  feeling  should  be  pro- 
vided for  these  groups.  We  must  insist  on  the 
naturalness  of  graded  lessons ;  they  must  be  kept 
out  of  the  category  of  mental  calisthenics. 

The  second  and  more  serious  error  is  that  doc- 
tors and  friends  expect  too  much  of  the  diet. 
Whole-wheat  bread  is  a  good  article  of  food,  but 
it  will  cure  neither  corns  nor  myopia.  Do  not 
expect  the  most  scientific  dietary  to  wholly  over- 
come bad  housing  in  dismal  quarters  with  junk- 
pile  equipment.  Graded  lessons  for  pupils  often 
need  to  be  complemented  by  lessons  to  janitors 
and  church  boards  in  physical  decency,  by  the 
gradation  of  church  budgets  according  to  needs 
rather  than  according  to  voting  powers.  Before 
we  can  cure  a  sick  school  we  must  diagnose  the 
case. 

276 


CRISES  AS  OPPORTUNITIES 

Again,  food  will  not  feed  itself.  Graded  lessons 
have  no  inherent  power  of  transition  to  the  pupil's 
consciousness.  They  do  have  the  most  decided 
advantage  that  they  are  so  near  and  so  normal  to 
the  pupil's  common  experience  that  the  approach 
is  wonderfully  facilitated.  They  are  food  for 
which  he  does  not  need  to  acquire  a  taste ;  he  has 
it  already.  They  have  all  the  advantages  of  ap- 
ples over  caviar  to  the  lad  of  twelve.  But  in  this 
case  children  must  be  aided  to  discover  the  ap- 
ples. Teachers  must  know  how  to  lead  young 
lives  to  where  the  food  is  waiting.  Graded  les- 
sons are  easier  to  teach  than  others  because  we 
have  the  cooperation  of  the  pupils'  interest.  But 
we  must  be  willing  to  learn  the  secrets  of  that 
interest  and  the  ways  of  that  cooperation.  "When 
you  meet  the  objection  that  *^ graded  lessons  are 
so  much  harder  to  teach  than  the  others,"  you 
will  usually  find  that  neither  these  nor  the  others 
have  been  taught ;  they  have  all  been  talked  about. 
Of  course,  it  is  much  easier  for  everybody  to  talk 
everlastingly  about  everything  that  has  always 
been  talked  about  than  it  is  to  teach  even  one 
simple  thing.  But,  after  trotting  around  that  well- 
worn  circle,  where  are  you?  Exactly  where  you 
were.  Graded  lessons  do  demand  teaching  instead 
of  talking. 

The  third  error  is  to  suppose  that  diet  or  food 
is  the  whole  of  life.  There  are  schools  with  cur- 
ricula that  look  wondrously  impressive  on  paper; 
well  may  they  point  proudly  to  these  works  of 
academic  art.  But  should  you  visit  some  of  these 
schools  you  would  justly  conclude  that  any  one  of 

277 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHUECH 

the  pedants  who  prepared  and  apply  the  curri- 
culum would,  if  he  had  a  child  to  nurture  at  home, 
chain  him  in  a  high  chair,  install  a  grim  dietetic 
nurse,  who,  following  precisely  a  printed  schedule, 
should  pour  the  prescribed  food  into  his  pa- 
tient's mouth  at  the  prescribed  period.  No  play 
should  be  his,  no  happy  toil,  no  romping  with 
father,  nor  songs  by  firelight,  nor  tucking  and 
kissing  into  bed  at  night.  That  school  is  conducted 
purely  for  academic  purposes,  and  children  are 
wandering  warehouses,  woefully,  wickedly  empty, 
who  must  be  arrested  once  a  week  and  gradually 
laden  with  textbook  lore.  Now  no  man  or  woman 
ought  to  prepare  Sunday-school  curricula  who 
has  forgotten  to  play  or  ceased  to  joy  in  mus- 
cular exertion  or  is  afraid  or  ashamed  of  an  emo- 
tion. A  child's  life,  on  the  physical  plane,  con- 
sists much  more  in  activity  than  in  eating.  He 
cannot  live  by  bread  alone;  he  must  have  play 
and  friends.  His  religious  development  is  equally 
conditioned  on  activity  and  social  relations.  No 
matter  how  scientifically  you  may  arrange  his  re- 
ligious dietary,  he  cannot  live  by  this  bread  alone, 
he  ^^must  do  the  will,''  he  must  ^^love  the  breth- 
ren." No  hearing  the  word  will  help  even  in  a 
Sunday  school  without  doing  the  will. 

This  criticism  does  not  invalidate  a  scientific- 
ally based  curriculum  of  study;  it  does  insist  that 
it  cannot  alone  constitute  a  curriculum  of  life, 
that  lessons  and  teaching  in  classes  cannot  alone 
achieve  the  ultimate  purpose  of  the  church  school, 
the  development  of  Christian  character.  The 
academic  method  must  be  seen  as  but  a  single 

278 


CRISES  AS  OPPOETUNITIES 

process  in  the  larger  life  aim.  To  neglect  youth  ^s 
passion  for  activity,  to  fail  to  direct  it  into  ideal 
service,  to  neglect  youth's  hunger  for  friendship, 
and  to  fail  to  provide  social  life  under  ideal  con- 
ditions, these  are  apt  to  render  futile  the  values 
in  the  best  curriculum  of  study. 

For  schools  which  are  so  fortunate  as  to  have 
available  the  serv^ices  of  professional  educators, 
probably  no  other  danger  is  so  common  and  so 
serious  as  this,  that  the  informational  ideal  shall 
hide  the  larger  educational  ideal.  Workers  in 
higher  education  are  especially  liable  to  make 
learning  more  important  than  life  and  to  take  edu- 
cation in  terms  of  the  acquisition  of  information. 
When  these  excellent  people  dominate  a  Sunday 
school,  they  soon  come  to  marvel  that  *^so  few 
people  are  interested  in  biblical  study."  They 
wonder  why  boys  and  girls  fall  out  of  their  per- 
fectly articulated  scheme  of  study;  why  Miss 
Brown,  who  is  not  especially  highly  educated, 
holds  her  young  people,  while  Miss  P.  Haighdee 
loses  hers;  why  the  kindergarten,  which  ^^ really 
has  no  academic  standards, '^  is  crowded  and  the 
college  grades  are  desolate.  Their  curriculum  of 
study  is  not  at  fault,  but  their  vision  is.  The 
school  must  mean  more  than  study;  it  must  in- 
clude all  that  will  develop  life  normally  and  effi- 
ciently into  the  Christian  ideal.  Not  that  play 
and  social  life  and  service  need  occupy  the  study 
periods,  but  that  they  must  have  their  own  place 
in  the  complete  program.  Graded  lessons  will 
serve  their  full  purpose  when  they  are  a  part  of 
a  larger  plan  of  life-training,  when  they  are  sub- 

279 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODERN  CHUECH 

sidiar}^  to  a  whole  comprehensive  scheme  which 
hy  all  the  activities  of  life  in  normal  proportion 
seeJcs  to  develop  the  whole  person  into  the  full- 
ness of  the  Christian  ideal. 

The  success  of  graded  instruction  is  condi- 
tioned, then,  not  alone  on  the  quality  of  the 
courses,  but  equally  on  (1)  an  intelligent  appre- 
ciation of  the  purpose  of  the  school,  (2)  an  ade- 
quate provision  for  its  physical  needs,  (3)  prep- 
aration and  ability  really  to  teach  the  course,  and 
(4)  wise  provision  for  the  activities  and  the  so- 
cial life  which  will  give  vitality  and  reality  to 
the  lessons  for  the  pupils. 


THE  STEENGTH  OF  VISION 

The  new  school,  adequate  to  its  large  task,  will 
never  be  realized  in  fact  until  it  has  been  seen  in 
faith.  We  travel  no  farther  than  we  see.  The 
substance  we  hold  in  our  hands  is  that  which  we 
have  long  held  in  our  hearts.  Schools  will  con- 
tinue to  be  picayune  affairs  so  long  as  we  think 
of  them  in  small  terms  and  so  long  as  we  attempt 
only  small  and  immediate  purposes.  No  matter 
how  discouraging  the  circumstances  may  be,  no 
matter  how  inadequate  the  equipment,  how  indif- 
ferent the  church  and  how  inefiicient  the  working 
forces,  the  task  remains  the  same,  the  opportunity 
is  none  the  less.  And  it  is  this  task  and  oppor- 
tunity that  we  must  cherish  and  enlarge.  Only 
as  we  keep  steadily  before  us  the  splendid  re- 
sponsibility resting  today  on  this  school  will  it 

280 


CEISES  AS  OPPOETUNITIES 

be  possible  to  make  the  new  ventures  that  lead 
toward  the  realization  of  its  task. 

The  school  worker  must  acquire  the  habit  of 
thinking  of  the  school  in  terms  of  its  social  func- 
tion and  purpose.  It  is  an  essential  part  of  this 
world  in  its  movement  toward  a  righteous  so- 
ciety. It  is  a  real,  essential,  indispensable  part 
of  this  world  of  politics,  social  life  and  interna- 
tional affairs  that  seems  to  be  so  real  and  large. 
Who  does  not  know  the  sensation  when  coming  to 
the  school  from  a  busy  week  in  the  great  world, 
that  one  is  coming  into  a  quiet  back-eddy  of  life? 
The  struggles  and  problems  of  men  have  been 
left  behind;  this  hour  of  teaching  has  nothing  to 
do  with  the  great  strife  of  life,  with  labor  and 
industrial  affairs,  with  jangling  human  passions, 
with  questions  of  civic  betterment.  But  that  is 
an  entirely  mistaken  notion;  it  has  everything  to 
do  with  them  if  it  is  loyal  to  its  work.  The  school 
is  not  in  a  back-eddy  of  life ;  it  is  at  its  sources. 

Here  the  teacher  touches  and  affects  human 
affairs  where  they  rise  in  the  hearts  of  the  com- 
ing men  and  women.  What  a  world  this  would 
be  today  if  all  its  people  were  guided  always  by 
the  best  ideals  the  school  of  religion  could  pre- 
sent to  them!  What  a  world  that  of  tomorrow 
may  be  if  only  we  can  insure  that  its  people  know 
and  love  and  will  the  way  of  social  righteous- 
ness! Is  it  nothing  that,  in  this  school,  we  may 
teach  how  life  is  to  be  lived  on  divine  terms?  Is 
it  nothing  that  this  is  the  principal  thing  this 
school  is  expected  to  do?     The  xeacher  is  not 

281 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODEEN  CHUECH 

here  alone  to  save  souls  but,  through  these  souls, 
to  save  society. 

But  sometimes  it  seems  almost  a  hopeless  task 
to  determine  the  future  through  the  minds  of  the 
young  today;  they  will  soon  forget  all  that  we 
teach  them.  While  that  is  not  altogether  true, 
we  must  remember  that  it  is  not  what  we  say 
to  them  that  counts  nearly  so  much  as  what  they 
experience  here  and  what  they  here  discover  for 
themselves.  Living,  working  and  learning  to- 
gether in  a  class,  and  living,  playing,  worship- 
ping and  working  together  in  a  school  is  an  ex- 
perience in  living  in  the  ideal  family  of  God.  A 
school  may  be  made,  when  it  is  seen  in  all  its 
reaches  and  possibilities,  a  realization  of  the  very 
kind  of  society  that  we  hope  to  see  for  all  men 
some  day.  The  experience  of  being  in  such  a 
society,  playing  a  natural  part  in  it,  is  what  counts 
most  of  all  in  determining  the  trend  of  these  young 
lives. 

Then,  in  all  the  work  of  this  school,  we  need  to 
enlarge  our  own  vision,  not  to  think  alone  of 
methods  and  means,  but  to  think  of  the  world  we 
are  making.  There  is  no  problem  of  humanity 
that  is  not  being  touched  here ;  there  is  no  path- 
way of  the  future  that  may  not  be  broadened  and 
illumined  here.  Take  with  you,  in  all  thinking  of 
the  school,  this  larger  picture  of  the  new  world 
we  are  making,  a  world  wherein  dwelleth  right- 
eousness. Think,  when  this  school  makes  heavy 
drafts  on  mind  and  heart  and  time,  how  much 
it  may  do  to  make  a  world  where  men  shall  work 
together  in  common  love  instead  of  commonly 

282 


CEISES  AS  OPPORTUXITIES 

striving  in  competition  that  breeds  hatred;  think 
how  much  may  be  done  to  make  a  world  where  all 
children  shall  have  sunlight,  human  love,  freedom 
to  play  and  be  children ;  how  much  the  school  may 
do  to  make  a  world  where  the  cities  shall  be  places 
of  health,  of  freedom  for  pure  happiness,  and 
where  lives  shall  be  blessed  with  leisure,  and  love 
shall  have  its  way ! 

All  this  we  may  do  through  the  school  of  re- 
ligion, if  it  fully  ministers  to  the  lives  that  are 
now  growing  into  their  powers,  acquiring  their 
habits,  forming  their  ideals,  shaping  their  con- 
cepts of  life  and  their  principles  of  action.  This 
makes  work  in  the  school  the  supreme  oppor- 
tunity of  religion,  for  this  school  is  the  one  in- 
stitution which  has  entire  freedom  to  deal  with 
children,  a  free  opportunity  to  deal  with  them  as 
religious  persons,  a  recog-nized  responsibility  to 
develop  their  religious  ideals,  to  interpret  life  to 
them  in  spiritual  terms  and  to  bring  out  in  them 
the  abilities  necessaiy  to  live  in  a  society  funda- 
mentally religious  and  to  make  a  world  of  spirit- 
ual, divine  goodness  and  love. 

Surely  no  ventures  are  too  great,  no  price  too 
high  and  no  endeavor  too  taxing  if  only  we  may, 
through  the  children  of  today,  bring  about  the 
kingdom,  the  human  society  of  love,  for  which  we 
so  ardently  hope  and  pray. 


2S3 


A  BRIEF  BIBLIOGRAPHY  OF  RELIGIOUS  EDU- 
CATION 

I.      GENERAL  PRINCIPLES 

*  Bushnell,  Horace,  * '  Christian  Nurture. ' '    Revised  edi- 

tion by  L.  A.  Weigle,  with  a  biographical  sketch  by 
Williston  Walker.  (Charles  Scribner's,  $1.50.) 
The  classic  on  the  basic  principles  of  child  nurture 
and  religious  education. 

*  Coe,  George  A.,  ** Education  in  Religion  and  Morals." 

(Revell,  1916,  $1.35.)  ''A  popular  and  fairly  com- 
prehensive treatment  in  the  light  of  educational 
methods.'' 
**  Coe,  George  A.,  ''A  Social  Theory  of  Religious  Edu- 
cation." (Charles  Scribner's,  1918,  $1.50.)  Funda- 
mental, vital  and  scientific. 

Colvin,  Stephen  Sheldon,  "The  Learning  Process." 
(Macmillan,  1911,  $1.25.) 

Conde,  Bertha,  *'The  Human  Element  in  the  Making 
of  a  Christian."  (Charles  Scribner's,  $1.00.)  A 
text-book  on  personal  evangelism. 

*  Dewey,  John,  *' School  and  Society."  (Univ.  of  Chi- 

cago Press,  $1.00.) 
Welton,  J.,  *'What  Do  We  Mean  by  Education?" 
(Macmillan,  $1.25.)     A  thorough  study  of  educa- 

*  A  single  asterisk  signifies  high,  value;  the  entire  list  should 
be  in  every  worker's  library. 

**  A  double  asterisk  marks  the  indispensable  books  according  to 
the  judgment  of  two  or  more  bibliographies.  The  evaluations  are 
not  the  work  of  the  author  of  this  text;  they  were  made  by  a 
church  commission  on  Eeiigious  Education. 

284 


A  BRIEF  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

tional  theory  in  the  light  of  ideal  and  personal 
aims. 
Cope,  Henry  F., " Eeligious  Education  in  the  Church." 
(Charles  Scribner's,  $1.25.)  A  study  of  the  or- 
ganization and  work  of  the  church  from  the  educa- 
tional point  of  view. 

n.      PSYCHOLOGY  OF  RELIGION 

**  Coe,    George    A.,    **The    Psychology    of    Religion." 
(Univ.  of  Chicago  Press,  1917,  $1.50.)     The  best  to 
date.     Scholarly  and  clear.     Modem  and  helpful. 
*Waterhouse,  E.  S.,  ''The  Psychology  of  the  Chris- 
tian Life."    (Charles  H.  Kelley,  35c.)    A  valuable, 
simple   introduction. 
Waddle,  Charles  W.,  ''Introduction  to  Child  Psychol- 
ogy."    (Houghton,  Mifflin,  $1.50.)     Non-technical, 
biological  point  of  view. 
Woodworth,  Robert  S.,  "Dynamic  Psychology."   (Co- 
lumbia Univ.  Press,  $1.50.) 
**  Moxcey,  Mary  E.,  "Girlhood  and  Character,"  pp.  400. 
(Abingdon  Press,  1916,  $1.50.)     The  latest  and  best 
book  on  the  study  of  the  adolescent  girl.    Contains 
carefully  selected  bibliographies. 
*  Harrison,  Elizabeth,  "A  Study  of  Child  Nature." 
(Kindergarten  College,  $1.00.)     Principles  of  the 
kindergarten  applied  to  the  home.    Charming  and 
helpful. 
Lamoreaux,  Antoinette  A.,  "The  Unfolding  Life." 
(Revell,  50c.) 
**  Cope,  Henry  F.,  "Religious  Education  in  the  Fam- 
ily."    (Univ.  of  Chicago  Press,  1915,  $1.25.)     "A 
series  of  careful  studies  designed  to  aid  the  parents 
in  the  religious  training  of  their  children.     *    *    * 
contains  lists  of  references  and  topics  for  each  chap- 
285 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODEKN  CHURCH 

ter,  and  an  up-to-date  annotated  list  of  books  for  a 
working  library." 

m.      PEDAGOGY 

Adams,  John,  ''A  Primer  on  Teaching."  (T.  T. 
Clark,  25c.) 

*  Gregory,  John  Milton,  ' '  The  Seven  Laws  of  Teach- 

ing." New  and  revised  edition  by  W.  C.  Bagley 
and  W.  K.  Layton.  (Pilgrim  Press,  1917,  75c.) 
''An  elementary  treatise  on  the  art  of  teach- 
^g  #  *  *  Q^Q  q£  ^j^g  clearest  and  simplest  state- 
ments of  the  teaching  process  that  has  ever  ap- 
peared." 
*Peabody,  Francis  G.,  *'The  Religious  Education  of 
an  American  Citizen."  (Macmillan,  1917,  $1.25.) 
Knight,  Edgar  W.,  ''Some  Principles  of  Teaching  as 
Applied  to  the  Sunday  Schuol."  (Pilgrim  Press, 
1915,  75c.)  "One  of  the  best  elementary  texts  in 
the  field  of  religious  pedagogy." 

*  Galloway,  Thomas  W.,  "The  Use  of  Motives  in  Teach- 

ing Morals  and  Religion."  (Pilgrim  Press,  1918, 
$1.25.)  "An  application  of  modern  principles  and 
methods  of  education,  based  on  the  fundamentals  of 
human  nature,  to  the  whole  development  of  per- 
sonality, including  morals  and  religion." 
*Weigle,  Luther  A.,  "The  Pupil  and  the  Teacher." 
(Doran,  50c.) 

IV.      CHURCH-SCHOOL  ORGANIZATION 

Athearn,  W.  S.,  "The  Church  School."  (Pilgrim 
Press,  $1.00.)  Gives  principles  and  detailed  direc- 
tions for  each  department.  One  of  the  best  texts 
available,  excellent  for  training  classes. 

Athearn,  W.  S.,  "Religious  Education  and  Ameri- 
286 


A  BEIEF  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

can  Democracy."      (Pilgrim  Press,   1917,   $1.50.) 
Discusses  the  present  situation  and  its  remedies. 

Brewbaker,  Charles  W.,  ''The  Sunday  School  in  Ac- 
tion."     (Otterbein  Press,   75c.) 

Bninner,  E.  D.,  "The  New  Country  Church  Build- 
ing." (Library  of  Christian  Progress.)  (Mission- 
ary Education  Movement,  1917,  75c.)  ''A  simple 
statement  of  the  physical  plant  required  for  the 
modem  rural  church." 
**Cope,  Henry  F.,  ''Efficiency  in  the  Sunday  School." 
(Doran,  $1.00.)  "The  writer  has  a  thorough  ap- 
preciation of  the  idea  of  efficiency.  He  has  the  ad- 
vantage of  knowing  the  Sunday  School  as  few  ex- 
perts today.  The  result  is  a  book  that  is  construc- 
tive and  practical." 
**  Cope,  Henry  F.,  "The  Modern  Sunday  School  and  Its 
Present  Day  Task. ' '  (Revell,  1917,^$1.00.)  ' ' Prac- 
tical and  scientific." 

Fergusson,  E.  Morris,  "How  to  Eun  a  Little  Sunday 
School."     (Revell,  60c.) 

Lawrance,  Marion,  "How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday 
School."  (Revell,  $1.25.)  Good  suggestions  of 
methods  for  organization. 

Meyer,  Henrj^  H.,  "The  Graded  Sunday  School  in 
Principle  and  Practice."  (Eaton  &  Mains,  75c.) 
The  best  review  of  the  history  of  the  graded  move- 
ment, with  a  discussion  of  its  application  today. 

V.      CURRICULUM 

Pease,  George  W.,  "Outline  of  a  Bible  School  Cur- 
riculum." (Univ.  of  Chicago  Press,  $1.50.)  "A 
good  treatment  of  the  characteristics  of  the  dif- 
ferent periods  in  child-life  and  suggestions  for 
graded  courses." 

287 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODEEN  CHUECH 

Myers,  A.  J.  'Williain,  ''The  Old  Testament  in  the 
Sunday  School/'    (Teachers  College,  $1.00.) 


VI.      SPECIAL  METHODS 

Littlefield,  IVIilton  S.,  ''Handwork  in  the  Sunday 
School.''      (S.   S.   Times,  $1.00.) 

Wardle,  Addie  Grace,  ' '  Handwork  in  Religious  Edu- 
cation." (Univ.  of  Chicago  Press,  $1.00.)  "An  ex- 
cellent treatment  of  the  various  forms  of  manual 
work. ' ' 

Bovard,   W.   S.,   "Adults  in  the   Sunday   School." 
(Abingdon  Press,  1917,  $1.00.) 
**  Evans,  Herbert  P., ' '  The  Sunday  School  Building  and 
Its  Equipment"     (Univ.  of  Chicago,  75c.)      The 
one  up-to-date  hand-book  on  this  subject. 

Chappell,  Harriet,  "The  Church  Vacation  School." 
(Revell,  75c.)  "A  handbook  on  the  work  of  the 
Daily  Vacation  Bible  Schools,  giving  statistics  of 
operation." 
*  Beard,  Prederica,  ' '  Graded  Missionary  Instruction  in 
the  Church  School."  (American  Baptist,  1917, 
75c.) 
**  Gates,  Herbert  W.,  "Recreation  in  the  Church." 
(Univ.  of  Chicago  Press,  1917,  $1.00.)  "A  prac- 
tical manual  on  methods  of  meeting  the  recrea- 
tional needs  of  the  child  in  the  community  through 
the  local  church." 

Rankin,  Mary  E.,  "A  Course  for  Beginners  in  Re- 
ligious   Education."      (Scribner's,    1917,    $1.25.) 
"The  'Social  Theory'  of  Kindergarten  education 
applied  to  the  kindergarten  of  the  church." 
t      Richardson,  Norman  E.,  &  Loomis,  Ormond  E.,  "The 
■  Boy  Scout  Movement."     (Scribner's,  1916,  $1.50.) 

' '  Approved  by  the  National  Boy  Scouts  of  America, 
and  recommended  to  all  students  of  boyhood.    Con- 
288 


A  BEIEF  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

tains  numerous  practical  suggestions  of  the  ways 
in  which  boys  may  be  safely  trained  to  play  their 
parts  in  the  world.  A  practical  handbook  for  scout 
leaders." 

Winchester,  B.  S.,  *' Religious  Education  and  Democ- 
racy." (Abingdon  Press,  1917.)  A  discussion  of 
the  historical  and  practical  bases  of  week-day  in- 
struction. 

Beard,  Frederica,  ''The  Beginners'  Worker  and 
Work."  (Abingdon  Press,  1917,  75c.)  ''A  sug- 
gestive manual  for  Beginners*  superintendents  and 
teachers. ' ' 

Diffendorfer,   Ralph   E.,  **  Missionary  Education  in 

Home    and    School."      (Abingdon   Press,    $1.50.) 

*'A  comprehensive,  well-arranged  text." 

*  Hutchins,  William  Norman,  * '  Graded  Social  Service 

in  the  Sunday  School."     (Univ.  of  Chicago,  75c.) 

McEntyre,  Ralph  W.,  ''The  Sunday  School  Secre- 
tary."    (Abingdon  Press,  1917,  $1.25.) 

Brewbaker,  Charles  W.,  ' '  Devotional  Life  of  the  Sun- 
day School  Worker."  (Revell,  1917,  75c.)  A  lit- 
tie  book  filled  with  helpful  suggestions  for  Sunday- 
school  teachers  and  religious  workers.  Supplies 
a  long-felt  need  in  the  field  of  religious  education. 
The  author  is  a  most  practical  Sunday  School  man. 
*McFarland,  John  T.,  Winchester,  B.S.,  et  al.,  "The 
Encyclopedia  of  Sunday  School  and  Religious  Edu- 
cation." 3  Vols.  (Thomas  Nelson  &  Sons,  1915, 
$15.00.) 
*Bowen,  W.  C,  "A  Survey  of  Religious  Education  in 
the  Church."  (Univ.  of  Chicago  Press,  1919, 
$1.00.)  Plans,  directions  and  analyses  for  a  thor- 
ough survey. 

Fergusson,  E.  Morris,  "How  to  Run  a  Little  Sunday 
School,"  pp.  128.     (Revell,  1916,  60c.)     "A  com- 
pact and  valuable  handbook  for  workers  in  a  small 
2S9 


THE  SCHOOL  IN  THE  MODEEN  CHURCH 

Sunday  school,  maintaining  a  high  educational 
standard  throughout.'* 

BrjTQer,  Mary  Foster,  "The  Elementary  Division  Or- 
ganized for  .Service."  (Revell,  1916,  50c.)  A  valu- 
able handbook  for  teachers  of  children  in  the  local 
church  school. 

Thomas,  Marion,  ** Primary  Manuals."  (Methodist 
Book  Concern,  1915,  50c.)  A  manual  suggesting 
ways  and  means  of  introducing  and  using  the  In- 
ternational Primary  graded  lessons. 

Baldwin,  Josephine  L.,  **The  Junior  Manual." 
(Methodist  Book  Concern,  1915,  50c.)  A  manual 
for  junior  teachers,  using  International  graded  les- 
sons. 

Athearn,  Walter  S.,  *^The  City  Institute  for  Religious 
Teachers."     (Univ.  of  Chicago,  75c.) 

Herbert,  Clara  W.,  ''Children's  Books  fOr  S.  S. 
Libraries."     (H.  W.  Wilson.) 

Alexander,  John  L.,  ''The  Sunday  School  and  the 
Teens."     (Association  Press,  $1.00.) 

Vn.      WORSHIP 

**  Hartshorne,  Hugh,  "Worship  in  the  Sunday  School." 
(Columbia  Univ.,  $1.25.)  A  valuable,  careful  study 
of  principles  with  definite  suggestions  for  programs. 

McElfresh,  Franklin,  "The  Training  of  Sunday 
School  Officers  and  Teachers."  (Pilgrim  Press, 
75c.) 

Hartshorne,  Hugh,  "The  Book  of  Worship  of  the 
Church  School."     (Scribner's,  $1.00.) 


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